


Lifetime Decisions

by SasuNarufan13



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Arranged Marriage, Birth, Character Death, Doesn't follow the epilogue, Draco's POV, Drama, F/M, Flashbacks, Follows the books for the most part but some events have been changed, Form of child abuse, Harry's POV, Infertility, It's more leading up to it but just to be on the safe side, Lemon, M/M, Mpreg, Sensitive subjects, Slash, Slightly darkish Draco, Surrogacy, Time Skips, little bit of violence, long chapters, some cheating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-19
Updated: 2015-11-27
Packaged: 2018-04-21 12:41:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 58,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4829513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Astoria isn't able to conceive due to a misfired spell. Harry offers to be their surrogate, wanting to help one of his best friends. Draco agrees and while both think they can keep their hearts out of it, it will prove very difficult to just stay friends when Harry falls pregnant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: All right, time for a new Drarry story. A couple of things you need to know before you proceed:
> 
> This will contain some sensitive subjects like surrogacy. I am not an expert regarding this subject, so my apologies if it looks wrong. It will also contain cheating. It will start out as Draco/Astoria and slowly evolve into Draco/Harry.
> 
> This story will be updated every two weeks on Saturday, as university starts for me next week and I still need to edit the chapters and finish the last couple of chapters. The chapters will also be around 8K each.
> 
> Warnings: infertility; arranged marriage; Draco's pov; angst; follows the books somewhat but not the epilogue; slash; surrogacy; mentioned MPreg (for now)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this first chapter!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review! Should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 1_

"I'm sorry, but there isn't anything we can do for you," the Healer, a woman named Melinda Rowland, delivered the final verdict in an apologetic tone.

The blond man absently noted that this Healer was the first one who didn't gloat while delivering the devastating news. They had visited five top Healers, including this one, and two of them had merely stated they refused to help them – despite their oath of impartiality – and two lawsuits were up for the other two because of their uncouth behaviour. He and his wife had won the first one already and it had resulted in a public apology from the Healer and the suspension of his license for two years.

The other case would appear before the judge in two months.

"Are you certain there are no spells or potions that can fix this?" his wife, Astoria Malfoy nee Greengrass, asked and he was impressed by her controlled voice.

No matter the situation, a Pureblood kept calm and wasn't led by emotions. Astoria, who had grown up in a strict family, knew this unspoken rule very well. It was one of the reasons why Lucius had suggested her as a possible spouse.

Rowland shook her head. "No, the damage inflicted on your body due to this curse is unfortunately irreversible." She grabbed a file and opened it. The page showed a diagram and several spells with notes written between each one. "I have searched through all the books that could provide a possible answer – even the ones you lent me - but each book gives the same answer. The curse is irreversible. I'm sorry."

Astoria closed her eyes in resignation, but her gaze was cool and collected when she opened her eyes again.

Draco's face didn't betray anything either, but behind his carefully constructed mask, there was only numbness. The realization that there would never be a Malfoy child to carry on the line finally hit him and he wanted to laugh bitterly. It seemed that even with the end of the war, he was still being punished.

The curse that was the cause of his grief had been fired by a witch belonging to the Light side. It hadn't been fired during the war itself – it was fired by the witch on a celebration party four years later. The curse wasn't even meant for Astoria in the first place. She had simply been at the wrong place, at the wrong moment. Originally Pansy Parkinson had been the target for her minimal involvement in the war, but she had moved sideways when the curse was fired, leaving Astoria – who she had been talking to – to take the curse instead.

The party had ended immediately and the witch had been arrested and was now serving an imprisonment sentence of six years in the less guarded section of Azkaban.

But the damage was already done.

The effect of the curse was only discovered four months later, when they had begun trying to conceive a child. They had been trying for four months when Astoria had decided they should let themselves be checked. The Malfoy family had always managed to conceive a child in less than three months after trying to conceive and therefore Astoria had become suspicious. When they had finally managed to find a Healer willing to help them, they got to hear after a week that nothing was wrong with Draco – he was perfectly capable of producing an heir.

So Astoria had been subjected to more examinations. They had to deliver a list of all the spells she had been hit with and all potions she had ingested in the course of the last six years.

Eventually, the Healer had discovered the effects of the curse. It had been created in the late sixteen hundreds, by a woman of the Rainford family, whose line had ceased to exist in the middle of the nineteenth century. The woman had been enraged after she was dumped by her lover, who had preferred a woman of a higher class. As revenge, she had created a curse which would make the victim completely barren, with no hope of recovery and subsequently no hope for children.

Rowland had tried casting several spells, in hopes of reversing the curse against expectations, but had to give up when it became clear that some spells caused even more harm.

"There are still options such as adoption and surrogacy," Rowland started, but quietened when Astoria raised her hand.

"Thank you for your time and effort. We appreciate it," she replied stiffly and rose up from the leather chair.

"Contact me if you have questions," Rowland murmured, realising the pair needed some time to come to terms with the news. This was one of those days when she wished she had chosen another profession, if only to avoid the duty of telling someone bad news. Even after all those years, she still wasn't used to it.

Draco nodded to the Healer and then left together with his wife the office, making their way downstairs in order to Floo home.

* * *

The jade green flames spat them out in a clean foyer in which the only furniture were a small round table next to the door, on which a vase filled with seven white roses stood; a large blue with silver rug placed in front of the pristine white fireplace and a single, comfortable, light blue armchair, fit to sit in during Floo calls.

A house elf popped in briefly to accept their coats and to clear the fireplace from black soot before disappearing to perform his other duties.

"Let us speak in the living room," Astoria suggested, breaking the silence at last and strode out of the foyer, her simple gown swishing softly over the carpet.

Releasing a soft sigh, Draco followed the woman he had been married to for almost two years. They took a seat on two comfortable, dark blue armchairs, which had been placed next to each other.

Outside the wind was picking up and rain started to hit the windows. Autumn had arrived in England.

"Now, after receiving this news, I would completely understand it if you wished to part and seek someone else," Astoria said and the only sign of her distress was the slight tightening of her hands in her lap.

"Astoria," Draco began slowly and hold her gaze when she looked at him. "Our marriage is practical, but that doesn't mean you aren't dear to me. I see no need for a divorce, unless you refuse to stay with me."

"No need?" she questioned incredulously. "Draco, I have failed in one of my duties as your wife. I can't bear your children. The Malfoy name will suffer if word gets out that there will be no children." To her credit, her voice only faltered a bit nearing the end.

"We will find a solution, I promise you that," Draco assured her, even though at this moment he couldn't think of anything bar adopting or surrogacy. "It's not like there is a deadline for a Malfoy to produce an heir."

Indeed there wasn't. His great-great-great-grandfather for example had produced his first heir when he was already fifty-two years old. Draco was barely twenty-two – nobody would find it strange if there wasn't an heir born immediately.

"What kind of solution?" Astoria sounded bitter. "We only have two options: either we adopt and you perform a Family blood ritual or we use a surrogate. I don't know which one of the options is worse. Either we are going to have to find a child of which the guardians don't mind that he or she will be raised by a Malfoy or we need to find a person willing to carry your child. Do I need to remind you that even after these years the Malfoy name still calls revulsion instead of respect?"

"No, you don't need to remind me," Draco replied coolly. "After all I've been trying to bring back the Malfoy name into positive light these past few years."

She bowed her head in apology. "My apologies – I didn't mean to offend you," she murmured.

"Astoria," Draco sighed.

At once she rose up from her seat and crossed the room. "Please excuse me, Draco, but for this moment I find myself not in the mood to discuss this further. If you do not mind, I'll be taking a bath."

He inclined his head. "I'm going to visit Pansy," he said calmly and stood up as well. "She seemed rather eager to talk to me when I received her latest letter."

They departed and while Astoria made her way up the stairs to the luxurious bathroom that only she was permitted to enter, Draco made his way to the foyer, needing to get out of the manor before his mother could try to talk to him. His mother had always had the uncanny ability to appear when he was feeling distressed and while he appreciated her concern, now he found he wouldn't be able to deal well with her questions.

"Nott's cottage," he stated and after throwing the pale green powder in the fireplace and stepping into it, the fire whisked him away and one minute later, he stepped out into another fireplace, being watchful not to trip over the small step.

"Pansy?"

"In the kitchen!"

Pansy and Theodore had got married three years ago and had decided that a cottage at the unruly, windy coast of Scotland was good enough for them. Surprising everyone who knew Pansy, the cottage had really a warm feeling to it, not at all what you would expect from an ex Slytherin. Then again, people tended to judge others based on their misconceptions of specific Houses.

When he entered the kitchen (large despite the fact it belonged in a cottage), he saw Pansy busying herself with brewing tea (presumably her two house elves were elsewhere cleaning up) and Harry Potter sitting at the kitchen table.

"What are you doing here?" he asked surprised and chose a seat next to the dark haired wizard.

Emerald green eyes shifted to look at him. "It's been a while since I last visited Pansy." He shrugged. "That and Ron and Hermione are driving me crazy with their constant bickering."

"What are they bickering about now?"

"When the wedding will take place," Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione wants the wedding in the summer, but Ron thinks it's too warm then and would prefer to have it in the spring. They've been fighting about it for a week now and I got fed up with it."

If someone had told him when he was sixteen that he would one day be best friends with Harry Potter after working together as allies during the war and even be able to hold a decent conversation about and with Weasley and Granger, he would have let them be committed into Saint Mungos. Alas, here they were, Harry and Pansy having become friends a year and a half ago when they finally made a truce.

"Did they ask for your opinion?" Pansy asked and directed the cups and teapot to the middle of the table before taking a seat herself.

"Of course they did." Harry snorted. "But I'm not that stupid that I would throw myself between those two. They are getting married; they need to learn to solve their own conflicts."

"Well, look at that, Pansy. Seems our cold Slytherin nature is finally rubbing off on him," Draco smirked and accepted the cup filled with orange blossom tea.

"Finally he learns." She smirked as well and Harry just shook his head.

Draco had just taken a sip of his tea and had placed the cup back on the saucer when Harry surprised him by asking, "What happened? You seem to be … brooding about something," he ended his question awkwardly.

This made Pansy take a good look at his face and she narrowed her dark eyes. "Yes, you don't look so happy. Did something happen today?"

Draco hesitated. He didn't know if he was allowed to tell his friends about the problems he and his wife were having. Both Harry and Pansy knew he and Astoria had been trying for months now to conceive a baby and that they had gone to visit some Healers to help them, but they didn't know the extent of the problem.

Astoria hadn't explicitly forbidden him to talk about it, but then again, she hadn't wanted to discuss it further either, so he didn't know if he would do more harm than good if he talked about the events in the Healer's office.

"Draco?" Harry questioned and cocked his head to the right.

Sighing, Draco glanced at the table and started to talk. "You know how we went to those Healers to find out why we are having trouble conceiving?" He got two affirmative nods. "Well, today we got to hear what exactly keeps Astoria from getting pregnant."

"What did the Healer say?" Pansy asked softly, her normally harsh eyes looking at him concerned.

"Apparently the curse she was struck with, did more harm than we assumed." He cleared his throat and after licking his lips, he continued, "It's a very old curse and it has no counter curse. The curse made her … made her completely barren," he whispered the last sentence, feeling the weight of reality finally crashing down on him. "She can't carry any child." His hands clenched around the cup.

"Oh Draco, I'm so sorry to hear that," Pansy whispered and she gripped his wrist. "I didn't know it was that severe."

"And the Healer is certain there aren't any counter curses?" Harry asked softly.

"Tried every possible spell she could think off. Some didn't have any effect and some made Astoria sick," Draco replied. "She even consulted with Healers in the rest of Europe, Asia and America, but they didn't come up with anything she hadn't already tried out."

"Did she give you other options?" Pansy asked, biting her lower lip. She knew how much Draco had longed to have a child – aside from the whole needing a heir business, Draco wanted to have a child and raise it better than his own father had done with him.

"The usual options of course," Draco laughed dryly, "Adoption and surrogacy."

"How did Astoria react?" Harry asked and then winced, fearing his question was insensitive.

Draco didn't seem to deem it as insensitive or he was feeling more lost than he led on. "Not well of course. She thinks she failed me, but it's not her fault. She didn't want to talk about it for the moment. I assume she wants to deal with the news on her own for a while and then will talk to me about possible future actions we will take."

Harry seemed to contemplate something. "Would it be easy for you to adopt a child or to even find a surrogate?" he asked, his green eyes flickering up with something.

Draco stared at him with a frown. "I don't think I have to tell you how bad the Malfoy image still is in the public's eye," he answered, failing to hide the bitter tone in his voice and for once he didn't care. After the news he had received today, he thought he had earned the right to be bitter for a while.

Harry winced. "So nearly impossible, huh," he murmured, his eyes misting over while he thought about something.

"What are you thinking about, Potter?" Pansy asked with narrowed eyes. The last time Harry had looked like that, he had gone off to search for Ginevra Weasley, when the bint had been stupid enough not to heed the warnings of her family and had struck up a relationship with a man suspected of Death Eater activities. They had been a happy couple for three months until Ginevra had started to turn up with vague signs of bruising and scratches and three weeks after her youngest brother had confronted her about his suspicions of her boyfriend, she had stormed off in a huff to the man's place. They hadn't thought anything of it, until there hadn't been a sign of the youngest Weasley for more than two weeks – until Harry had received her hastily scrawled message for help.

Somehow he had figured out where she had been kept captive and had gone off to rescue her, never having been able to bury his hero tendencies completely. He had managed to rescue her, but he had ended up in the hospital with several severe wounds after battling with the man, who had wanted the honour of killing Harry Potter. The man was still locked up in Azkaban with two Dementors to guard him.

So Pansy had dubbed this particular look as the 'I'm going to do something incredibly heroic and verging on the line of stupidity' look, which was never a comfort to either of Harry's friends.

"Nothing in particular," he answered, clearly distracted with whatever he was thinking about. Suddenly he stood up and shoved his chair behind, leaving two pair of eyes to stare at him in surprise. "I need to do some research," he announced.

"Research?" Draco repeated suspiciously. "What kind of research?"

Harry gave him a quick, reassuring smile and squeezed his shoulder comfortingly in passing, "Just some research. Sorry to hear about the Healer's news. I'm sure you'll come up with something." And then he was gone, the sound of Flooing announcing his departure a few seconds later.

Draco and Pansy stared at each other in bewilderment.

"Whatever he's up to now, something tells me it's not some simple research," she muttered darkly and her lips were pressed against each other tightly.

He nodded slowly in agreement. As long as Harry didn't go on a wild, possibly life-threatening adventure, he supposed it was all right.

* * *

The fire flared up a week later and Draco turned around to face the person doing the Floo call. Considering he was in his study now the choices of whom the person could be, were limited to Blaise, Harry and Pansy. It turned out to be Harry, who looked at him with bright green eyes.

"Can I come through?"

"I suppose." Draco nodded though he felt a bit wary. A glance at the clock showed him it was half past ten already. What did Harry want at this late hour?

The fire flared up momentarily and the green flames spat out Harry, who stumbled on the carpet and managed to stay upright.

"Take a seat," Draco offered and nodded to the armchair standing next to his oak desk. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"Eh, tea is fine," Harry replied and sounded a bit distracted. He sat down in the armchair and crossed his one leg over the other, the foot bobbing up and down in a quick tempo.

Grey eyes narrowed when he noticed the bouncing – a clear sign Harry was nervous about something.

"Topsy," Draco called out and one second later, one of the house elves popped up.

"What cans Topsy do for Master Draco?" the house elf squeaked in a high voice.

"Bring some bergamot tea up."

"Topsy bring tea." The house elf disappeared again and one minute later a tray with two cups, already filled with steaming tea, a teapot, a small bowl with sugar cubes and a small milk can appeared on the desk.

"All right, what do you want to talk about?"

Harry took a deep breath and his foot stopped bouncing – which was a good thing; otherwise Draco would have hexed him out of annoyance. "I did some research," he began hesitantly.

"Was Granger not available?" Draco sneered.

Green eyes rolled in annoyance. "Don't be a git, Draco. I can do research as well, you know. That's practically a requirement for my job."

"What kind of research did you do?"

The other man shifted uncomfortably in his chair and vague alarm bells began to ring in Draco's head.

"I want to ask you something." Harry took a deep breath. "If someone was willing to carry your baby, would you be willing to go through with it?"

Grey eyes narrowed in distrust. "A surrogate?"

Harry nodded, taking a sip from his tea.

"Well, it depends."

"On what?"

"Whether or not Astoria would agree with surrogacy and whether or not I can trust this person to hand over the baby when the time comes and not run off with it."

"Oh." Harry blinked. "But if Astoria agreed and you could trust the surrogate, you would go through with it?"

"You know damn well how much I want a child, Potter," Draco replied coolly, not particularly in the mood to discuss the whole baby issue. Astoria hadn't mentioned it at all since they had received the news and she had spent most of the week at her sister's home, only coming home late in the evening to sleep. He assumed she was trying to avoid situations in which he could ask her to discuss the issue.

"Why are you asking this? Did you find a surrogate?" Draco asked and tried to squish down the slim sliver of hope. Harry had only asked him in the hypothetical sense.

"I – well yeah, sort of."

"What do you mean 'sort of'?" Draco asked suspiciously and he lowered the cup again.

Harry looked down at his lap, avoiding the suspicious eyes. "Well, I said I did some research, right? And you never specified whether you wanted a woman to carry the baby or … a man," he trailed off, clearly uncomfortable.

The blond haired wizard blinked and calmly placed his cup back on the saucer, contemplating quietly what he just had heard. He supposed it was his dumbfounded shock that kept him from hexing the other man. He couldn't be serious, right? There was no possible way that Harry meant what he thought he meant, because that was just not feasible.

"Draco?" Harry sounded nervous.

"Are you completely _out of your mind_?" Draco congratulated himself when he managed to sound calm instead of snapping it like he wanted to.

"No, of course not," Harry frowned. "Just hear me out, all right? You want someone you can trust, who you know will hand over the baby when it's born and who's willing to carry the baby, despite the fact that you're a Malfoy."

Draco winced and scowled.

"The research I did, told me it is possible for a man to carry a baby, as long as the necessary potions are taken. You never specified whether you wanted a woman to carry your baby or a man, so you know, I'm willing to carry your baby if you want," he mumbled, his cheeks red with embarrassment.

Draco pursed his lips and tapped with his fingers on his desk, trying to remain as calm as possible. All right, so apparently Harry did mean what he thought he meant and he was serious about it. Had the Saviour finally lost his mind?

"Do you even realize what you would have to go through?" he began slowly, ordering his thoughts.

Harry furrowed his eyebrows. "Of course I know – I read every useful book that I could find."

"No, you don't know," Draco said through clenched teeth, glaring. "Why would you even think about such a ridiculous idea as this?"

"It's not ridiculous, it's …"

The blond cut him off. "So you're willing to give up your own baby when it's born?"

"Wha - …"

"Because the potions mentioned in those books work only properly if sex occurs. It's not like with women where the fertilized egg can be transferred into the womb through magic. If you take those potions, we would need to have sex in order for a pregnancy to happen, which means that that child would be biologically yours as well. So tell me, Harry, are you seriously willing to give up your own child, relinquishing all your rights to it? You would never be able to treat it like your own child, you would only see it at the times you visit us and the child would only know you as an uncle. Still think it's a good idea?" Draco snapped.

He knew Harry only wanted to do well – it was actually a flaw of him, instead of a virtue like the public saw it. Harry saw someone in need and seemed to think he had to do something to help that person, not giving a hoot whether or not he ended up hurt in the process.

While most people would find it marvellous and incredibly generous of Harry to offer to be their surrogate, Draco could only think of the downsides. Like he had stated, the potions, created to make male pregnancy possible, only worked well when the two men had sex. It had something to do with the way the magic of the two men would blend together and make it possible for one of them to get pregnant. Biologically the child would be a mix between Draco and Harry. Harry would even be appointed as the 'mother' or the more commonly used term for this particular case 'Carrier', even if he let Astoria adopt the baby.

Basically he would be giving up his own baby. Surrogacy was already sensitive, because even with the surrogate mother not being the biological partner of the baby, in essential just being the vessel for the child to grow, the surrogate could still develop parental feelings for the child and the surrogate could decide to keep the baby. The laws regarding the rights of the adoptive parents were almost non-existent and so, the couple would have a hard time trying to convince the judge that the child was really theirs and belonged to them and not to the person carrying it.

How would Harry feel to carry his own baby, knowing it would carry a part of his DNA and then to just give it up after it was born? Would he be able to go through with it, go through with the knowledge that the child he was carrying would never regard him as a parent once the papers were signed?

Harry would probably give the baby up with no fuss – after all, when he made a promise he stuck with it and he was above all loyal to his friends and would never hurt them intentionally – but would he be able to go on after the whole affair was over? To look the child in the eye later on, but never being able to care for it like a parent was supposed to do?

Draco didn't think Harry could go through the whole pregnancy, birth and giving it up without attaching himself to the baby. The blond aristocrat didn't want to see one of his best friends hurting just so he could gain something.

"I really thought about it, Draco," Harry murmured, breaking the awkward silence. "I want to help you. I assure you, you can trust me to give the baby to you after it's born. I won't keep it or run away with it."

"Harry, you don't seem to comprehend the severity of the situation." Draco frowned. "While I know you wouldn't keep the baby or run away with it, I can't stand the knowledge that I would separate you from your own child. No matter what you say, you would become attached to it and that's natural because it will be partly yours. If you want to carry a child, go find a guy who you love and have children with him. It's madness to assume that you would come out of the pregnancy and birth with no attachment to the baby at all. I can't put you through that, no matter how much I want a child."

"Draco, please listen. I know what I'm doing and I know what I'm proposing." Harry looked at him calmly. "I know the risks that can occur and I wouldn't have proposed this to you if I hadn't thought about it thoroughly. I want to help you to get a child. I'm the best choice you have. Who else are you going to ask as a surrogate? Pansy? You know Theodore wouldn't agree with it. Millicent? Her work as a Curse breaker wouldn't allow it. Astoria's sister? Aside from the fact that it would be just plain awkward and would probably cause a rift between you and Astoria, Daphne's fiancé wouldn't agree with it either."

"There is still the option of adoption," Draco pointed out.

Harry snorted. "Sorry, I don't want to insult you, but honestly, Draco, how high are the chances that an adoption agency will give you their time of the day? You've been trying very hard the past few years and there is improvement in the way people think of your family, but I doubt someone would be willing to hand over a child to you." He looked at him sympathetically.

"All right, so adoption is probably ruled out." Draco scowled, hating the fact that Harry was right. "So, let's assume that for some crazy, screwed manner of thinking I agree to this idea and let you carry my child. What are you going to do about your job then? What are you going to tell other people when they notice you gaining weight?"

Harry waved his hand and smiled. "I got that all figured out. The moment the tests confirm I'm carrying the baby, I would ask my supervisor to put me on desk duty and teaching a few classes. I'm certain she won't object too much, because we are short on teachers at the moment. As for the other people – I would try to hide it as much as possible. There are spells and magical belts created to hide the stomach without harming the child, so I could use one of those when large clothing won't hide my stomach anymore."

"You have an answer to everything now, don't you?" Draco glared and pursed his lips.

"I knew you would come up with objections." The other wizard shrugged. "Plus if I didn't have any solutions, you would just use that as another excuse to not go through with it."

"Those are not excuses I make, but facts," Draco retorted annoyed. "Really, Harry, you seem to consider this akin to a walk in the park, while it most certainly isn't. I'm trying to protect you from making a huge mistake."

Harry leant forwards and his emerald green gaze acquired a glint. "I'm not making a mistake. I weighed all the pros and contra's before I came here. I know what I'll be going through and I know I would never hurt you by keeping the child. Honestly, Draco, where is your selfish Slytherin nature?" He smiled faintly. "I'm offering you a good deal, but you don't seem to understand the benefits."

"Excuse me if I don't want to be a selfish prick and hurt one of my best friends just so I could gain something," Draco snapped and his fingers clenched around the fabric of his pants.

Harry seemed to understand that Draco was now too riled up to discuss it properly and leant back again in his chair. "Look, I'm obviously not forcing you to accept the offer. I just want you to think about it before you give me a final answer. Discuss it with Astoria and you can tell me afterwards what the two of you have decided. There is no need to be hasty with decisions," he spoke calmly and placed the cup back on the plate. "I'll leave you to think about it. Good night, Draco."

Fourteen seconds later, the Floo whisked him away to his own house, leaving Draco to sit alone in his office, contemplating the whole conversation with mixed feelings.

* * *

Astoria had regarded him with an expressionless face when he told her about the conversation he had had with Harry two nights ago.

He had finally managed to find her, right before she wanted to use the Floo to go to her sister again. He had taken her to the living room and had informed her about Harry's proposition, assuring her immediately after that he hadn't made any decision and wouldn't make any without her consent.

She had sat there quietly for several minutes, a contemplative gleam in her eyes – the only sign she was thinking about it. He waited patiently for her opinion on the matter.

Truth be told, a part of him – a part he wanted desperately to supress – wanted nothing more than to agree to Harry's suggestion and ask him when he would be ready to carry a baby. Having an option to still have a child, a biological child, a child he didn't think he would have after the visit to the Healer, was mindboggling. The chance of parenthood that had been abruptly snatched away from him after one spell and one conversation with a Healer was given back to him by his best friend. The only thing he would need to do was make sure Harry got the needed potions in his system, have sex with him and then wait until the baby was ready to be born, after which he would have a child to raise. Nothing too difficult. He could gather the potions either by making them himself or asking his godfather to prepare them as some sort of favour. Having sex wouldn't be too difficult either, because Harry was aesthetically pleasing and Draco had known for several years now that he swung both ways – not that many knew of that particular fact. He doubted even Pansy knew it.

If they started now, he would be a father already by the beginning of next year, provided everything went well.

But there was still the fact of the child being partly Harry's as well and even he wasn't cold hearted enough to separate a child from its mother. Yet, that would happen if they went through with the idea. Astoria would hardly stand for it that Harry would be living in with them and the child was supposed to regard her as its mother.

He had been brought out of his inner musings when Astoria told him coolly that if he really wanted, he could go through with the plan. She didn't mind. She knew the chances of finding another surrogate were slim to none and thought it better to grasp this chance than to let it slip away and live the rest of their lives childless – something she didn't want to let Draco endure. She may not completely love him like a wife was supposed to do, but she still cared deeply for him and wanted to see him happy. Besides, without an heir the Malfoy line was in danger of going extinct and something like that wasn't supposed to happen to such an old pureblood line. If having a Halfblood carry her husband's child meant the prevention of the line going extinct, she was willing to put up with it, no matter her feelings towards Harry Potter.

Draco had regarded her warily, and upon feeling that gaze, she had assured him she was really fine with it. She only wanted him to promise that he would only share a bed with Potter for as long as it was needed and that after the affirmative test came through, he would limit his interactions with Potter whenever possible.

Draco had protested that Harry was still one of his best friends and that he couldn't drop him just like that, especially not if he was carrying his child, to which Astoria had responded that she meant she didn't want him to have an affair with the man.

Draco had to supress an urge to laugh then – there was no way that he would begin an affair with Harry. Even though he was certainly pleasing to the eye, he couldn't see himself having an affair with the man. Besides, Harry's loyal nature wouldn't allow him cheating on his wife.

So after the talk with his wife, Draco had spent another week thinking about it, musing about the consequences.

He still didn't like the thought of potentially hurting his best friend by taking away the baby from him, but Harry was the one persisting that he would be fine. And although there was still a voice in the back of his mind warning him against taking this particular course of action before everything could end up in shambles, he finally made his decision.

* * *

Saturday evening in the middle of October, Draco arrived in a small room functioning as a foyer of Harry's house. He could hear the wind beating against the windows, making the glass rattle and rain drops were obscuring the view. He walked out of the room slowly, taking one final breath to calm himself. This was it then. After this conversation there would be no going back.

Heart racing and feeling inexplicably warm, the blond aristocrat entered the warm kitchen, where something was sizzling in the hot pan and two pots were cooking something. The smell of beef, potatoes and Brussels sprouts curled up in his nose and he felt himself becoming a bit hungry. Harry had always been a great cook.

The dark haired man turned around in surprise from his spot at the cooking plate. "Draco? I didn't know you were coming tonight," he said surprised.

"Sorry, I should have sent you a message," Draco murmured, secretly taking in Harry's body – the body he would have underneath him soon if Harry still was up to it. He could have done worse he supposed.

"Nah, it's all right." Harry waved away his apology. "Take a seat; you can eat with me if you want."

"Thanks." Draco nodded and took a seat at the small kitchen table. A few snaps of a wand and a plate, cutlery and a glass filled with some kind of Muggle lemonade was placed in front of him.

Ten minutes later, both of them were enjoying the meal Harry had prepared, with the sound of the rain the only thing disturbing the silence between them.

"So, any reason why you decided to visit today?" Harry asked curiously, finally breaking the silence.

Draco pushed a bit of his cooked potatoes to the side and cleared his throat. "I talked with Astoria about your proposition."

The fork that had been raised in the air was placed back on the plate again and green eyes blinked in surprise. "Oh," was all Harry mentioned, as if he wasn't certain how to reply to that. He shifted a bit in his chair. "So, eh, what was her answer?"

"She said that if I wanted to, you could be the surrogate," Draco replied calmly, putting his own fork down when his hand shook a bit.

Harry stared at him intently. "And, what do you want to do, Draco?"

Draco's mouth tightened and he leant back in his chair, feeling he had eaten enough for now. "I … If you still want to and you're absolutely sure you won't regret anything, then I'm willing to do it," he finally replied after a heavy moment of silence.

Harry cocked his head and smiled faintly. "You look like you are about to faint," he murmured. "Are you sure you want this? Certain you won't regret this? Because once it's done, there's no going back."

"Of course I'm certain!" Draco suddenly snapped, irritation shooting right through him. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have come here to tell you this, now would I?"

Harry chuckled, not at all deterred or startled by Draco's sudden snappish tone. He was already used to be subjected to that. You couldn't be one of Draco's best friends without being subjected to his harsh treatment at least once. "I just wanted to be sure," he responded soothingly. He bit his lip, a flash of uncertainty crossing his face. "So, when do you want, you know, to do it?"

Right. He hadn't thought of that yet. Somehow that had slipped through his mind. Then again, he thought he was entitled to be a bit forgetful now, considering what he would soon be doing.

"Well," he started slowly, "if I can convince Severus to give me the needed potions, we could start in just over a week. If not, then over a month, providing everything goes as planned."

"If everything goes as planned?" Harry repeated questioningly.

"Brewing the potions takes a month – from gathering the ingredients to completing it, but one mistake can extend the waiting period."

"Oh." Green eyes blinked. "How high are the chances that Snape will give you the potions?"

Draco sighed. "Honestly? I don't know. It will depend on his mood when I ask it, I suppose."

"So, when are you going to ask him?" Harry asked lightly, pushing his plate away.

"This Monday I suppose. I don't dare to disturb him on a Sunday." Draco smiled sheepishly.

Harry snorted. "You're afraid of your own godfather?"

"Hey, he values his Sundays – the last person who dared to disturb him on a Sunday was turned into an ugly, blue spotted toad."

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "All right, you ask him Monday then." He stood up and began to collect the dishes, putting them in the sink to be cleaned. "So, if Snape gives you the potions, when do you want to do it then?" Only his slightly flushed cheeks and neck gave away his embarrassment.

"Depends on when you want to. The potions need to be taken in a day before sex takes place, so that they can develop a womb and an egg on time," Draco replied, resisting the urge to blush. It was just sex – nothing to be embarrassed about.

"Oh." Harry turned around and looked contemplatively. "Well, I just have to make arrangements with my boss, so let me know when you have the potions and I can talk to her the day after."

"And it's certain she won't give you any trouble about it?" Draco asked warily. Harry was a very good Healer, so his boss would probably be reluctant to have him out of the field, so to speak, and behind a desk.

Harry waved his hand. "She won't give me any trouble. Sure, she probably will be a bit disappointed, but this way other people will have a chance to prove themselves," he replied lightly.

"That's decided then. I'll let you know if Severus gives me the potions and otherwise, we will get started over a month."

"And if Snape gives the potions? Do we start next week?"

"In that case, yes. Does next weekend suit you?"

"Sure, no problem," Harry smiled and then turned his attention to the dishes, leaving Draco to contemplate the conversation that had just happened.

He was still coming to terms with the fact that he really would be getting a child in the near future when he left for his house again.

* * *

People rarely managed to stun Severus into speechlessness, but Draco thought he had managed to do that just now. It was Monday afternoon and Severus had finished his lessons for that day. He was still teaching at Hogwarts, after having had his reputation restored by none other than Harry Potter – for which Severus was still feeling sour about – and Draco had managed to catch him on time. On time meaning that Severus hadn't had the chance to lock himself up in his private lab to work on orders.

They were seated in the small living room, drinking black tea that one of the house elves had placed next to them.

Draco had just explained what exactly he wanted from Severus and for whom it was intended and was now enjoying the rare sight of having rendered the older man speechless. A great feat in the blond man's opinion.

Finally Severus reacted. He placed his cup back on the saucer and placed the top of his fingers together, his face blank, not betraying any thought of him. "If I understood you correctly, you'd like to receive the male fertility potions needed to give a man the ability to carry children and you want Harry Potter of all people to ingest them and carry your child because your wife isn't capable of bringing forth a child anymore," he spoke calmly.

Draco nodded, "Exactly. Are you willing to give those potions? I can pay you if you'd like," he offered.

"Draco, may I ask where on earth you lost your common sense?" Black eyes narrowed. "I have no problems with you seeking a surrogate, but why Potter of all people? The man most prone to accidents and danger and you want _him_ to carry your child?"

"To be correct, _he_ offered to act as surrogate," Draco reminded his godfather of the situation. "And while he is indeed prone to land in danger, he already ensured me he would take the steps necessary to keep the baby safe. As soon as he receives confirmation he is pregnant, he will get a desk job and the most strenuous thing he'll be doing then during the whole pregnancy is teaching a few classes." He sighed and clucked his tongue softly. "Look, I tried talking him out of it, and maybe that would have worked if he was an Auror. But a desk job isn't dangerous. And unfortunately he was right when stating that the chances of finding another surrogate or even someone willing to let me adopt a child are slim to none." He scowled.

"But you didn't put any effort in trying to find another person willing to play surrogate. You could still try to find someone else." Severus frowned, not liking the thought of the Potter boy carrying the Malfoy heir. While he and Potter had managed to form some sort of truce, he still remembered all the accidents Potter was in while attending school. Pregnancy would make him incredibly vulnerable and one wrong move or action could result in the termination of the pregnancy.

"Severus, let's be honest now. How high are the chances I find someone willing to be a surrogate? People still distrust me and some still attempt to find something to land me in Azkaban," Draco murmured and the frustration was clear in his voice. "It's not like I decided this in the course of one night. I thought of the consequences and I'm willing to accept them. I talked with Astoria about it and she has agreed to let Harry act as a surrogate for us. I can refuse, but that will most likely lead me to a life without children. If I want to have children, then Harry is my best chance." He raked a hand through his hair. "Look, you don't have to provide me with the potions. I can make those potions on my own, but that would take at least a month. I want to begin this as soon as possible, in case something does go wrong."

Severus sighed and leant back in his chair, his eyes gaining a troubled shine.

Silence hung heavily between the two of them for a long time. Draco had practice with waiting patiently for his partner to reply – practice gained from years with his father and some of the Purebloods he had to associate with.

That didn't mean that inwardly he wasn't nervous. Severus wasn't obligated to help him – indeed, with his history with Harry, he could easily refuse and Draco would have no other choice than to brew the potions himself.

Finally, Severus broke the silence. "Do your parents know what you're planning?"

Draco grimaced. He had told them about his decision a few days after his conversation with Astoria. His father had turned pale and a hint of horror had passed through his mask – whether it was from the fact that Harry would be carrying the child, because Harry was a Half-blood, or simply because Harry being the surrogate meant Draco would be having sexual intercourse with him, Draco didn't know. His mother had taken a deep breath and had closed her bright eyes for a brief moment and then had declared that he must do whatever he must to keep the Malfoy name from going extinct.

His father had looked conflicted and his wife had casted him a particular look that seemed to convey a message (even after all this time, Draco hadn't managed to decipher their looks), because he had finally nodded his consent, stating that continuing the Malfoy line was more important than some of his prejudices against Half-bloods. Aside from Narcissa's mysterious look, it probably had helped that not only Harry was in possession of a lot of magical power – something that the Malfoy family had always appreciated – but Lucius knew that Harry was his only chance of ever gaining a grandchild.

"They know about it, yes. And they don't object to it," Draco replied calmly.

"You're going to regret this," Severus muttered darkly and before Draco could retort, the older man had stood up, throwing him a piercing look. "Come with me."

* * *

Taking a deep breath, Draco stood still and composed himself. He then threw a pinch of the Floo powder in the fireplace and called out his destination clearly. It was rather late for a visit – it was nearly ten p.m. – but he wanted to deliver the news as soon as possible.

He landed in the same room he had landed last time in and immediately started his search. He was standing in the hallway, in front of the closed kitchen door when the creaking stairs alerted him to the arrival of the one he was searching for.

When he turned around, he came face to face with a half-naked Harry, who only had a towel wrapped around his waist. The droplets in his wet hair caught the weak candle light and made them glitter like small diamonds while other drops of water made their way slowly over his chiselled chest and back, being absorbed by the towel once they reached his lower stomach.

"Draco?" Harry cocked his head to the right, looking confused.

Draco smiled tentatively and held up a small basket filled with three vials. "Can you meet your superior tomorrow?"


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And here I am with the second chapter. I have to admit I'm quite surprised at the attention this fic has gathered, but nevertheless I'm quite happy with it :) I can only hope that you'll enjoy the rest of the story as well!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: lemon; explanation fertility potions; Harry's pov
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in two weeks for the third chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 2_

He closed the door of the office behind him and leant against the wall briefly with closed eyes. Like predicted his boss hadn't been really happy with the situation, but like he had pointed out, he would still work his regular hours until it was confirmed that he was pregnant. Only then would he require to have a desk job and the occasional class to teach.

He'd liked to continue working like he did, but Healing required the use of his magic – magic which would be used in helping the child grow and keeping the womb into existence. He didn't think that the amount of magic he released during his Healing would be disastrous to the baby's development, but better to be safe than sorry, he supposed.

He nodded and opened his eyes. He had chosen to talk to his superior after his shift was done. He did have a break, but that wasn't long enough to have the talk, so he had chosen to wait until his shift was done.

Harry rolled his shoulders and grimaced when he felt them crack a bit. It was Friday and in one hour he would be taking in the potions that would change his organs and move them around to form a womb. He and Draco had decided they would start tomorrow night. After a bit of awkward talking, they had made the decision that Draco would come to Harry – doing it in Draco's manor while his parents were living in a separate wing and with Astoria near would have been beyond awkward.

When he thought of the moment he would be having sex with Draco, he grew nervous and slightly nauseous. Not because he was sickened by the thought of having sex with Draco – after all, he was the one who had offered to be surrogate while knowing what it would entail and he was gay, though only a few of his friends knew that fact – but because he wasn't sure how Draco would react to having him in bed. As far as he knew, Draco was straight – would he even be able to get aroused to have sex with him?

Harry supposed Draco had found a way – agreeing to let him be the surrogate and then failing to perform would be counterproductive after all. But that didn't make him any less nervous. Especially when Draco would essentially be the first guy he would share his bed with. Sure, he had had boyfriends before – three since he had discovered he was gay - , but those relationships had never progressed beyond some heavy petting. In all three cases, something had happened that had made them split up before Harry could take the final step with them.

Somehow he had the feeling that mentioning to Draco he was still a virgin would bring up an argument he'd like to avoid. It's not as if he was saving his virginity for a special person. He snorted at that thought. He wanted to help Draco – admitting he didn't have experience would make Draco hesitate and Harry didn't want to argue with Draco.

Having that one argument about the surrogacy before Draco had agreed to it had been tiring enough.

It was kind of laughable that the once feared Ice Prince of Slytherin who didn't give a damn about what happened to other people, was now concerned about something Harry himself had suggested. While Draco wasn't as self-centred anymore – at least not towards his best friends – Harry had expected him to see the benefits only and not raise any counter arguments. For Draco there would be nothing but benefits, yet the man had protested and had only agreed after he had been given time to think. Harry liked to think that his good arguments had been one of the reasons why Draco finally consented.

It wasn't like Harry would have forced him to take Harry as surrogate – he had simply offered and countered every argument Draco could come up with. In the end it had been up to Draco and his wife to decide what they would do with the offer he gave them.

He understood why Draco was concerned that he would get attached to the baby and would want to keep it, but Harry would never do that to him. He was certain that he would be able to keep his distance from the baby – as much as he could of course with the baby growing inside of him – and he was certain he would be able to give up the baby once it was born. He knew himself. And if there came a moment where he would want to keep the baby, Draco still wouldn't have anything to fear. Harry would never hurt one of his best friends. If that meant keeping his pain a secret, then he would have no problem doing that.

But he was getting ahead of himself. He hadn't even swallowed the potions yet, never mind got pregnant and he was already envisioning the birth and what would happen afterwards. He had to focus on the present now and not so much on the future yet.

"Right, time to go home then," he muttered and after grabbing his bag and locking the door of his office, he strode towards the entrance hall to use the Floo there.

* * *

He had a light dinner, consisting of only a sandwich with a glass of water, because he wasn't in the mood to cook and then went upstairs to his bedroom, where the vials were waiting for him on his nightstand.

He stared at them for a minute, before turning away and grabbing his nightwear. He would shower first and then take the potions. From what he had read, the process of forming the womb wouldn't be painful, but more uncomfortable. The third potion took care of the pain that would have appeared when the womb sought its place between his organs, but it couldn't prevent the slight nausea or the lack of comfort the whole process brought with it.

After taking a quick shower, drying his hair as much as he could and brushing his teeth, he got dressed in a shirt and cotton pants and stepped into his bed. Harry turned on his right side and grabbed the first vial. Recognizing the colour from the books he had studied – not that he didn't trust Snape to give the right potions – he removed the seal that kept the liquid inside the vial and quickly downed it, not giving himself the chance to actually taste the vile potion.

Even with his job as Healer, he despised potions – which didn't really help when he had to convince his patients to take them.

After swallowing the other two potions, he put the empty vials back on his nightstand and settled down in his bed, using his wand to draw the curtains shut and the lights off.

He laid down on his back and stared in the dark at his ceiling.

A quarter of an hour later, just when Harry had started to fall asleep, his stomach suddenly seemed to flip upside down and he grimaced. When his hand touched his stomach, he noted surprised that the skin had started to warm up and he squirmed a bit. He turned onto his side and breathed through his open mouth and squeezed his eyes shut when the first wave of nausea appeared.

Normally he would have taken a potion for the nausea, but the book he had consulted, had warned against the use of any other potion because they could interfere with the process of the growth of the womb.

"This sucks," he muttered, frowning and huffed. Even though he felt nauseous, he wouldn't be able to throw up – which somehow made it even more annoying to experience.

But there was nothing he could do about it – he had made his choice and he knew what he had got himself into when he made the offer. Besides, two hours of nausea wasn't bad when he remembered he was helping a friend.

For the next two hours, he was assaulted by waves of nausea and the occasional spike of pain, centred in the middle of his stomach. Sometimes Harry imagined he could feel his intestines shifting around to make room for the new addition, though that was probably all just his imagination.

Finally the nausea disappeared as fast as it had come up and with one last dull throb, the pain went away as well.

Harry breathed out in relief and stretched out from his curled up position. He shifted around in his bed until he found a cool spot and laid back down again.

It was time for him to catch some sleep. After all it wouldn't do for him to fall asleep in the middle of having sex with Draco. He had a feeling the blond wouldn't appreciate that.

* * *

The following day Harry busied himself with tidying up his home a bit, while waiting for Draco to show up. After he had eaten breakfast, he had casted a diagnostic spell on himself to make sure the womb had settled in the right place. The scan had shown that the potion had done its work perfectly. All he had to do now was getting knocked up.

_Easy to say, but I wonder if it'll be easy to do as well,_ Harry mused and stepped back from the bookcase he had been organizing. The books were now sorted by author and then by title.

Draco would arrive at his house around eight p.m. after he had had dinner with his wife. Harry had thought of offering him dinner at his place, but had retracted that thought before he could say it out loud. Making Draco dinner before going to bed with him made it seem as if they were a couple and that was just awkward. They weren't a couple – Draco just needed to bed him to get him pregnant.

Harry's thoughts flickered to the small vial stashed away in a drawer of his nightstand. He had grabbed it from the small apothecary in the hospital yesterday, wearing a Disguise charm to avoid rumours flying around.

It was the magical equivalent of a Viagra pill. Harry wasn't sure if Draco would need one, but just to be on the safe side he had grabbed a bottle in case Draco would have problems getting it up.

Hopefully, though, Draco would somehow manage to get it up, because Harry had no clue how he would offer the vial to Draco without somehow insulting the blond's pride.

Shaking his head, Harry entered the next room, which turned out to be his study and attacked the mess he had left there.

He had to do something with the energy he suddenly had after all.

* * *

That evening, after having taken a quick shower, Harry curled himself up in his favourite, comfortable chair near the fireplace in the living room and forced himself to read a medical magazine in which a specialist was trying to proof with his article that some Dark spells should be allowed again if they were able to save a patient's life. Harry didn't think the man would be successful, certainly not with the Ministry's strict policies on what they considered Dark and what not, but it was an interesting read and it was able to distract him for a while.

He had been so absorbed in his reading that he only noticed the time had flown by when he was startled by the sound of Flooing.

As if that was the cue, his palms started to sweat slightly and he felt something squirming in his stomach – probably nerves, he thought with a frown. He stood up and closed the magazine, laying it back on the pile next to the chair. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, forcing himself to calm down.

When he thought he was calm enough and wouldn't start blabbering something stupid the second he saw Draco, he left the room and entered his small foyer.

Draco was still brushing the soot of his robes with a frown – probably annoyed his expensive robes got dirty.

He looked up when he noticed Harry standing in the doorway. "You need to clean your fireplace," he complained, as a manner of greeting.

Harry rolled his eyes and relaxed. This was the Draco he knew – complaining about the most insignificant things if it meant they inconvenienced him in some way. "I was planning on doing that later this week. Not my fault you chose to wear those expensive robes," he snorted.

The blond sniffed affronted. "It's not because you don't seem to grasp the essence of looking good at all times that it means I have to forget about it."

"Done with complaining?" Harry asked dryly.

Draco snorted and removed his outer robe (why he thought it necessary to wear that garment when he just used the Floo and didn't even go outside, Harry didn't understand), hanging it on the small hook nailed in the wall. "I don't complain – I'm giving you advice you would do well to follow."

"I'll keep it in mind." Harry rolled his eyes.

Now that Draco was standing there, waiting in the hallway, an awkward silence reigned between them. How did they have to proceed now? Should they talk a bit more? Or just go straight to the bedroom, dump their clothes and get on with it?

Harry's attention was turned back to Draco, when the latter shifted his foot a bit and crossed his arms.

"Is the couch sturdy enough or do you prefer the bed?" the blond suddenly blurted out and then grimaced when his brain caught up with his mouth.

Harry gaped at him before he remembered to close his mouth.

"Sorry, that didn't come out like I had planned to." A faint flush appeared on pale cheeks and the blond awkwardly rubbed the back of his head.

"Eh, I'm not sure how else you planned that to come out as," Harry smiled weakly, "but is the bed good? The one time I fell asleep on the couch, I woke up with a cramped neck and shoulders."

Draco shrugged nonchalantly. "No problem."

Harry jerked his head a bit and then turned around, going up the stairs, leading the blond behind him to his bedroom. He tried to remember if Draco had ever been in his bedroom before. He didn't think so – they tended to meet up outside of his house.

He opened the door of his bedroom and stepped inside, feeling his heart beating quicker when Draco closed the door behind him.

"So, eh, let's get started," Harry smiled weakly and before Draco could do or say something, he pulled his sweater over his head, dropping it on the floor. When he looked up, he noticed Draco staring at his chest and he shifted uncomfortably. "Is something wrong?" Well, aside from the obvious lack of breasts …

Draco quickly shook his head and some strands of his hair fell across his face, which he impatiently pushed back. "No, nothing wrong. Except … do you work out?"

"What?" Harry blinked surprised and looked down at his stomach, which had rather well-defined muscles, considering he didn't play Quidditch anymore. "Oh no. I don't have time for that anymore with my job." He shrugged. "I sometimes play Quidditch, but not much."

Draco hummed and then began removing his own clothes, which made Harry relax a bit. At least Draco hadn't suddenly decided that he had other thoughts about the arrangement.

Refusing to look back up, he unbuckled his belt and pushed his jeans down, letting them pool around his ankles before stepping out of them. He sat down on the bed and quickly removed his socks, and let them fall on his crumpled jeans and sweater.

When he sat up straight, he realized he still had his boxers on, and he hesitated, wondering whether he should remove his boxers now or wait a bit more. Then again, it wasn't like they would have a long foreplay – all Draco had to do was stretch him, lube him up and then they could get started.

The matrass sinking down a bit signalled Draco's presence and Harry looked up quickly, feeling his cheeks heat up a bit when he noticed how close Draco sat next to him – close enough to feel warmth radiating from his skin. And close enough to admire the unblemished pale skin and muscled chest. Well, at least he wouldn't have problems getting it up, he thought faintly, when he felt a stirring in his lower stomach. He crossed his legs, not sure whether he wanted Draco to notice he was getting turned on.

"Let's get into the bed," Draco murmured and Harry wanted to point out that they were _already_ in bed, but kept his mouth instead, realizing how ridiculous he would sound and just stood up to pull the blankets back.

Both men quickly slid underneath the sheets, lying next to each other and then both froze at the same moment, realizing they didn't have a clue as to how to proceed next.

"So, eh, how do you want to do it?" Draco asked and sat on his knees, making the blanket fall back. He raked a hand through his hair, mussing it up in the process. He was nervous.

_Well, that was normal_ , Harry thought. _It wasn't every day that you would go to bed with someone of the same gender just to knock him up_.

"Eh, don't really know," Harry muttered and looked away, shivering a bit when the slightly cool air stroked against his naked skin, creating goose bumps. He hadn't really thought that far yet. Was there a position that would be beneficial for getting pregnant?

"Well, what's your favourite position?" Draco inquired curiously.

Biting his lip, Harry looked at the blond who raised an eyebrow. Shit, what should he say now? He didn't have a favourite position. Would Draco get suspicious if he just said he liked to do it on his back? Wait no, that would probably get awkward. A position like that was ideal for kissing, but they wouldn't be kissing. This wasn't a romantic date or something akin to that. Draco just needed to impregnate him and that was that.

So which position should he choose?

Grey eyes narrowed suspiciously and his chin was jerked up by a cool, slender hand. "Harry, you do have some experience, right?"

He remembered telling Draco he was gay on one of the sparse nights he had been drunk, but aside from confessing that particular secret, he had never introduced any of his boyfriends to Draco or anyone else of his friends and he had certainly never talked about what he did with his boyfriends.

He couldn't admit to not having any experience – Draco would probably get up after cussing him out and leave and then the potions would have been for nothing.

So he would have his first time with Draco. Who wasn't his boyfriend. Who wasn't interested in him at all, except for getting him pregnant. Which was fine. Really. First times were overrated anyway. Besides it would still be someone who he trusted. He wasn't a girl who needed to be courted before she gave up her virginity. He was a man for god's sake.

"Of course I have experience," Harry huffed and slapped the hand away. He reclined back against his small amount of pillows. "I think it's easier if I get on my hands and knees after the preparation," he continued, trying his hardest to keep that damn embarrassed flush off his face and his voice light.

Draco snorted. "Hands and knees, huh? Who would have thought that the …"

"Finish that sentence and you'll regret it," Harry smiled thinly, eyes slightly narrowed in warning.

The blond raised his hands up. "All right, where do you keep the lube?"

Harry was a bit taken aback at how quickly they seemed to progress now and then scolded himself for being surprised. "Eh, in the top drawer of my nightstand," he muttered.

"You know, normal people have their nightstand next to their bed – _where it belongs_ – and not across the room," Draco complained, but stood up and crossed the room, opening the top drawer of the light blue nightstand.

Harry knew it was stupid to have his nightstand there while his bed was on the other side of the room, but he didn't want to admit to Draco that his nightstand was stuck to the floor with a Permanent Sticky charm after he had gotten tired of having it constantly wobbling due to the fact that one leg was shorter than the three others. At that moment of time he hadn't known he would one day like to move his bed to another place and he didn't know the counter spell for the charm.

"Harry, what is this?" Draco's voice sounded curious, yet revolted at the same time.

Green eyes looked up and then widened when they caught sight of the object in Draco's right hand. It was a small vial in which a dark coloured liquid was gently sloshing around.

He winced and then sighed. "Come off it, Draco, as if you don't recognize that potion."

"I do recognize it – I'm just wondering what the hell it is doing in your nightstand. Is it for your own use or …" Draco trailed off, grimacing.

"What? No. I grabbed it from the hospital for you," Harry huffed and stretched his legs.

"For me? I can assure you that I do not need the help of any potion to get it up," Draco sneered, dumping the vial back in the drawer.

He groaned inwardly – yes, he had been right in thinking Draco's pride would be hurt if he knew about the existence of the vial. Crap. Maybe he should have been the one to grab the lube. Why hadn't he thought this more through?

"It's just … you're straight and I didn't know whether you would manage to get it up now." He gestured helplessly with his hand. "I figured that could help you if you had problems."

Draco shook his head and came back to the bed, dropping the lube on the sheet and climbing underneath the blanket again. "Trust me when I say that I won't have problems with getting it up," he murmured and then rolled his eyes when he caught sight of Harry's confused face. "You're not that ugly, Potter."

Harry felt vaguely pleased about that hidden compliment – he was beginning to suspect something was wrong with him.

"Say, there is no boyfriend that might get pissed off when you're pregnant?" Draco suddenly asked and looked at him with troubled eyes.

"A bit late to ask that, don't you think?" Harry huffed and then rolled his eyes when the blond scowled. "No, there is nobody. Do you seriously think I would offer to be a surrogate if I had a partner?"

Draco shrugged. "You have a very strong urge to help people, so it wouldn't have surprised me if you still went through it while you had a partner."

That remark just deserved a slap and so Harry did, smacking Draco's arm hard. "You're a bastard." He glared.

While he indeed couldn't see a person suffering, it wasn't as if he would go to any lengths to ease said suffering. Of course thanks to the media, people seemed to think that he would do whatever he could to help someone. It was irritating to have that kind of reputation, especially during his job when family members seemed to think that he could heal all diseases and got furious at him when he had to deliver bad news.

Draco scowled and rubbed his arm. "I was just asking to be sure; no need to get violent." He sniffed.

"Let's just start, okay?" Harry rolled his eyes. If he continued this argument, nothing would happen tonight and he didn't want to sit there half naked the entire night, arguing whether or not it was appropriate for Draco to ask such questions. "You do know what to do, right?" he asked suspiciously.

"Of course I know what to do, Potter. I'm not an idiot," Draco scoffed and then proceeded to tug off his boxers, looking perfectly calm the entire time.

Harry blinked surprised and then felt his cheeks warm a bit when he sneaked a peek at Draco's impressive length. While he had never taken the last step with any of his three boyfriends, they had pleasured each other manually and orally and if Harry's memory served him well, none of his former boyfriends had been as big as Draco. And it wasn't like they had been small. Was Draco even going to fit in him?

A hand tugging on his boxers made him startle and slap the hand away in reflex.

"You know, you have to get naked at some point," Draco pointed out with a raised eyebrow and a half smirk on his face.

"Shut up," Harry mumbled annoyed. He bowed his head to hide his burning cheeks and then hesitantly slipped out of his underwear, dropping it on the floor. The sheets felt comfortable against his naked skin, but all he could think now was ' _Oh god, we're completely naked now. He's going to see everything.'_

Which was a useless thought, because obviously Draco would see everything now – it was rather difficult after all to have sex while still wearing underwear.

"How long has it been since you last shagged someone? Or were shagged?" Draco suddenly asked. "I need to know how much preparation you need."

"Oh. Eh, seven months," Harry blurted out the first number that came up in his mind. That should give him enough preparation time, right? Maybe he should have tried preparing himself to avoid this whole uncomfortable situation.

"So seven months since you were the bottom?" Draco peered up at him, while opening the tube.

Harry nodded, figuring it was best to just agree. His heartbeat went up and it was as if his skin was on fire. He just had to stay calm; he knew that being tense would only make it more difficult for Draco to shag him, but relaxing was easier said than done.

Suddenly Draco bent down and gave his collarbone a quick kiss, with his lips somehow leaving a searing heat behind.

"What?" Harry stared at him shocked, not having expected something like that to happen. He had assumed Draco would merely prepare him, he would get on his hands and knees and they would do it – that was all that needed to be done.

"I hate awkwardness and this whole situation is beyond awkward. We should at least have some foreplay if only to relax you," the blond informed him lightly, his grey eyes glistening with something unidentifiable.

"Oh," was the only thing Harry could utter and he hesitantly raised his hands, not certain whether Draco would allow the touch or not.

"You can touch me, you know," Draco murmured and as if he wanted to remove any lingering doubt, he quickly snatched one of Harry's slightly clammy hands and placed it on his chest, while his own two hands came down on Harry's shoulders, which then trailed down across his chest and stomach. The wandering right hand paused when it encountered a faint white line that felt rough to the touch: a scar.

Harry shivered when he felt a finger tracing the scar that started right underneath his armpit and then curved slightly downwards until it ended at his last rib. The scar wasn't an angry red anymore, like it had been nine months ago and had healed quite nicely, but he would always have the faint white line as a memory of one of his patients losing control and lashing out with a large knife his magic had conjured.

He felt a light shock going through his body when the light touch of the finger was replaced by a hot tongue that carefully followed the path of the scar.

Not wanting to lay there passively, he let his hands explore the smooth, pale chest. His hands skidded over the two long faint lines – the only physical reminder of their fight in sixth year. Harry swallowed, feeling the guilt coming up again and impulsively he raised up, until he could kiss the scars softly.

Draco held still for a few tense seconds, before he relaxed and returned his attention back to Harry's body.

_Draco tastes like peaches._

That was the first thought that shot through Harry's mind once he had placed a few kisses on the strong chest.

"Oh." Air escaped his throat noisily when he felt devious nails lightly scratching his lower stomach and he bucked his hips in response – he had always been extra sensitive on that part of his body. Immediately after his hips laid back down on the bed, he looked at Draco with a mortified face.

Draco didn't seem to mind the reaction if his smirk was anything to go by with. "So you're sensitive there, huh?" he murmured and then grinned and ranked his nails down again while simultaneously licking one of Harry's nipples, worrying it a bit between his teeth.

A soft moan broke through and he closed his eyes, feeling ashamed for reacting the way he did.

But then again, Draco had said they would have foreplay – so what he did, was nothing to be ashamed of, right?

After the realisation Harry did his best to relax as much as he could, focusing instead on the teasing lips that made their path down his body and wandering soft hands, that scratched, stroked and caressed his skin, while he returned the favour.

Harry hid his grin when he finally heard Draco groan; apparently his neck and stomach were very sensitive and Harry made use of that fact – if he was forced to lose control, it was only fair if the same thing happened to his friend.

A gasp left both their mouths when they shifted and pressed against each other; their hard cocks brushing against each other, some pre cum dribbling out of the tips and sliding down.

Their eyes met and Draco held up the tube questioningly, his other hand still caressing his thigh.

Harry swallowed and nodded, his nerves playing up again when the soft 'squelch' sound let him know that Draco was squeezing out lube on his fingers.

Now there was no turning back.

A hand opened his legs wider and Draco moved around, until he was right between his legs, making Harry blush again when the realisation hit him that Draco _could see everything now_.

A soft but insisted push and he felt the first finger entering him, the preparation starting for real now.

While Draco muttered reassuring words, Harry tried his best to stay as relaxed as possible, but he couldn't stop himself from tensing up from time to time as the finger slid deeper, stroking against his inner walls. His inner muscles rippled around the intrusion, clenching around it as if to push it back out and he forced himself to relax his muscles. Relaxing didn't become easier when a second finger joined next to the first one. His eyes were squeezed shut, but when he opened them a bit, he could see a frown marring Draco's forehead and he bit his lip, trying even harder to relax himself. He couldn't let the blond know that this was his first time. It wasn't until a hand touched him his cock that he found something else to focus on and the pleasure that spiked up from the teasing light touches were enough to take his mind off the burning, stinging pain once the preparation progressed further, a third finger being added; the burning feeling turning a bit sharper.

When Draco touched something deep in him, a burst of pleasure spiked through his body and he jumped up a bit, a loud groan escaping his mouth.

"Ah, I was wondering when I would find it." Draco sounded so smug Harry would have liked to smack him again, except that the infuriating bastard had decided to keep prodding and stroking that particular place while squeezing his prick softly, which made white stars burst out behind his closed eyelids and effectively distracted him from harming the blond.

By the time Draco pulled his fingers back, Harry was a panting, quivering mess, wondering why the hell the touches had felt so good. He knew of course which place Draco had managed to locate, but he hadn't known he would react that strongly to having it touched.

Maybe the sex wouldn't be that bad if Draco managed to hit there.

While Draco busied himself with putting lube on his own hard prick, Harry turned a bit shakily around until he was positioned on his hands and knees. His arms felt a bit wobbly, but he grabbed the corners of his pillow tightly between his hands and concentrated on his breathing, trying to keep as calm as possible. He knew he had to be relaxed to make the next part easy, but just thinking about what would happen next and wondering whether it would hurt or not, was enough to make him tense up again. He swallowed and forced himself to relax his muscles as much as possible.

"Ready?" Draco asked softly and hands came to rest on his hips.

Not trusting his voice to work in a normal tone now, Harry just nodded and then quickly bent down his head, until his face was hidden in his pillow when something very warm, hard and big forced its way into him, stretching him even more than the fingers had done.

It burned. It stung. It was painful and he was wondering with tears in his eyes how the hell men could actually enjoy this. Fuck, he wasn't sure whether he would be able to walk normal again – he felt like he was split into two and it seemed like a lot of time had passed when Draco finally stopped moving and waited to get his cue to go on. His cock felt impossibly big inside Harry and he barely kept the pained whimper inside when his muscles involuntarily clenched harder down around Draco's member.

Harry had to restrain himself from lashing out with either his arms or his magic by focusing his attention on his plain pillow and reminding himself that he was doing this to help one of his best friends. Besides if he couldn't handle this sting, he shouldn't have offered because the birth would surely hurt more.

"Harry?" Draco's concerned voice drew him back to reality and he hissed underneath his breath, shifting his legs a little. His arse felt as if it was on fire and he briefly wondered whether that was normal or if he had somehow managed to tear internally. Merlin, he hoped not.

"Should I pull back?"

"No, no, I'm fine," Harry assured him quickly and took a deep breath. Draco had sounded a bit strained and he realized he must be gripping painfully tight around him and he forced himself to slowly relax his inner muscles, grimacing while he did so.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked and he felt a hand sneaking around his stomach and the body behind him jerked in surprise when he encountered his limp member.

Harry pushed the hand away. "Ye-yeah, I'm fine." He clenched his teeth and tried to ignore the way his arms trembled. "You can move."

"Are you sure? Because you seem to be in a lot …"

"Just move," Harry bit out and sighed. He just wanted the whole thing to be over and done with it, so he could try to regain some other feeling aside from burning pain.

He felt Draco pulling back slowly, which actually seemed to worsen his pain and then push back in, fallen into a slow rhythm.

Green eyes closed in resignation and he focused on keeping his breathing calm and his muscles relaxed to minimize the pain, all the while wondering how this was supposed to be enjoyable for men. Maybe it was only enjoyable for the one who topped? Or maybe something was just wrong with him.

Suddenly, Draco paused and then shifted his hips. Idly wondering whether Draco was already done, he was very surprised when the next thrust pushed against something deep inside of him and actually made pleasure spike through him.

"Wha …" His body jerked up in surprise when that particular spot received another prod and a soft moan escaped his throat.

"Ah, I finally found it," Draco murmured satisfied and one of his hands released its grip on his hips and slid between his legs to fondle his cock.

Harry didn't know whether the burn was simply diminishing or the pleasure was taking over and he didn't care. All he cared about was that he was actually starting to feel good. Unconsciously he began to push back and he heard Draco groan; their skin making soft slapping sounds every time they touched.

Harry began to pant, his skin feeling feverish and sweat drops slid down his temples and over his chest. Mind numbing pleasure coursed through him and he was only vaguely aware of the groans and moans he produced – not that Draco was quiet. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he was actually surprised that Draco was so vocal in bed. Somehow he had expected him to be a quiet bed partner.

Time ticked away with the two men on the bed being unaware of it; both of them concentrating on the primal act transpiring between them to ensure they created a baby.

Harry's breathing quickened after a while, when he felt his climax approaching slowly. His hands were clenching and unclenching in the sheets, which felt slightly damp against his sweaty skin. He could feel hot lips pressing harsh kisses across his spine and shoulder blades and he let out a guttural moan when the hand around his member tightened, already sticky with the pre cum that kept dripping out steadily.

Right when he was about to hit his climax, a hand suddenly gripped his chin and jerked his head up and to the side and urgent lips were pushed against his, his mouth opening in a gasp from surprise, allowing the other man's tongue to slide into his mouth, seeking out his own. Their tongues curled around and stroked each other; their lips seemed intent on devouring the other man.

The passionate kiss combined with the tight squeeze triggered his climax and he shuddered and moaned, his body shaking, white overtaking his vision. He felt his muscles tighten up around Draco and he vaguely felt something hot flooding into him, filling him up completely, before his trembling knees gave out and he dropped down on the bed, his breath escaping him with a whoosh sound when Draco fell down with him.

Luckily the blond quickly pulled back, causing Harry to wince and feel sort of empty, and he laid back down next to him, panting harshly.

Harry shifted his legs and felt something dribble out of him, making him grimace, not used to it.

Slowly he turned around, feeling his muscles protest and his back flaring up in pain, but eventually he managed to lay down on his back, swallowing back the groan of pain that wanted to escape.

Merlin, if he already felt so sore now, how bad would it be tomorrow?

"I'm sorry for being too rough." Grey eyes looked at him apologetically after he had noticed the wince passing Harry's face.

"Is okay. It just has been a while," Harry smiled weakly and pulled the sheets up until it covered his body up to his chest. The sweat on his body was cooling off and now that he was no longer surrounded by Draco's body and subsequently his body heat, he noticed how chilly it was in his room. It seemed he had forgotten to renew the Temperature charm.

"Is it okay if I stay a bit longer?"

When green eyes looked at him inquiringly, Draco ruefully smiled. "I read that it helps speeding up the process, because the potion needs our magic to work and afterwards the process will apparently go quicker if you're surrounded by my magic for a while longer."

"Oh." Harry blinked and tried to recall what he had read about male pregnancies. He vaguely could remember reading a part about the partner's magic being needed to help the potion work and that it could help in stabilizing the foetus afterwards. He hadn't paid much attention to that part at the time, because he had been mainly interested in how the potion would work and what exactly he would go through during the pregnancy.

"Sure, no problem," he smiled faintly and then yawned. One of the side effects of the fertility potion was fatigue occurring right after the conception, so the fact that he was tired now was hopefully a good sign.

"Let's get some sleep." Draco sounded amused and Harry had just enough presence of mind to give his arm a whack before his eyes closed and sleep took over.

* * *

When Harry woke up the next morning, the space next to him on the bed was empty – apparently Draco had snuck out somewhere during the night. For some reason that realization stung a bit and he didn't know why. It wasn't like he had expected Draco to be there the next morning – in fact it probably was better that the blond man had left, because at least this way the awkwardness of having shagged with his best friend wasn't present now.

He was laying on his back and he stretched, hissing when a spike of pain hit him. He shifted and grimaced; right, he was still sore. He should have remembered that, but he thought he could be forgiven for not remembering that tiny sliver of information after what he did last night.

Like a slap in his face, he recalled that he now officially wasn't a virgin anymore. Nervous laughter bubbled up in him and he shook his head. Of all the things he could think off the morning after having sex with his best friend, _that_ was the first thing he thought about.

It was weird; he had always thought he would lose his virginity to his boyfriend once he was ready for it and here he was now: giving it up to his best friend, who didn't have a clue he shagged a virgin, all to ensure that the bloodline could be continued.

At least it was an original way to lose one's virginity, he considered and a weak chuckle escaped his mouth.

Taking a deep breath, he braced himself for the pain and slowly sat up. Damn it, his arse felt like it was on fire. If he would feel like this every time he got laid, he didn't think he would be eager to experience it again.

All right, first thing he would do today was take a Pain relieve potion. He knew he had to be careful now with what kind of potions he took, as to make sure they didn't mix with the fertility potion, but he was certain he had a potion in stock that he was allowed to take. All he had to do was get out of the bed and not fall down.

He groped around on his nightstand to grab his glasses and the back of his hand bumped against something cool in the middle of the nightstand. Frowning, he put his glasses on and turned his head.

A small see through vial was standing on his nightstand with a note folded against it.

Curiosity piqued, he snatched the note and opened it.

In Draco's familiar, cursive handwriting, he had written, _'Considering you mentioned it had been a while for you, I took a Pain relieve potion from my own stock. Don't fret; this particular potion is safe to take in your condition.'_

He blinked – how thoughtful of Draco. He grabbed the vial and uncorked it, not wasting any time taking it in, ignoring the incredibly sweet taste of it.

Five seconds later, the potion kicked in and Harry could feel the pain and soreness retreating, making him breathe out in relief.

Slowly he stood up; his legs felt like rubber and he gripped the edge of the nightstand tightly, waiting until he felt steady on his legs again.

Once he was able to take steps without feeling like his legs would give out, he made his way to the bathroom to take a much needed shower. He felt sticky and uncomfortable – a shower would remedy that.

After grabbing a large towel and putting it on the rack next to the shower, he stepped into the shower and the water started pouring down on him. He groaned appreciatively when the hot water hit his tired muscles and he leant his forehead against the cool tiles. A Water Repel charm made sure his glasses were protected from the water, so that he didn't have to take them off.

The glass doors of the shower started to fog up after a while and eventually he started to lather his hair with shampoo that smelled like vanilla.

While he was scrubbing his hair, his thoughts strayed back to last night. It had been initially awkward at first, having sex with Draco and in the beginning of it, he couldn't remember anything else but searing pain. He had known it would hurt, but to be in so much pain … But it had gotten better after a while, which had surprised him. He hadn't expected to feel pleasure from it – he had been focused on the reason of the sex which was to impregnate him. Honestly, he had expected Draco to just take him and be quickly done with it. If it had been awkward for Harry, how bad mustn't it have been for the blond? He was after all the one married to a woman. That he could get it up for a man surprised him. That he was willing to give Harry some foreplay shocked him.

His cheeks burned when he remembered the teasing hands and the fleeting touches of warm lips on his skin. They had felt so good on his skin.

He stepped underneath the showerhead and let the water wash away the shampoo. Reaching out, he felt his bottle of shower gel waiting for him on the small shelf attached to the wall and he grabbed it, squeezing a big dollop of the cinnamon smelling gel on the washcloth. Quickly he started to scrub himself with it, blushing a bit when he washed his arse and that made his thoughts shoot back to last night.

After the water had removed the last remaining soap suds of his body, he stepped out of the shower and started to towel himself dry. He fastened the towel around his hips and crossed the small distance to the sink where he brushed his teeth.

When his toothbrush touched his lips, his mind instantly flashed back to the kiss he had shared with Draco. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he saw how red his cheeks had got and his eyes were wide in shock.

In an unspoken agreement they hadn't kissed each other on the lips – that act was far too intimate, something meant for lovers. So while their lips had touched each other's skin during the foreplay, they had never reached out to kiss each other on the lips. Harry had had no problem with that.

But then right at the end, Draco had gripped his chin and had kissed him squarely on his mouth; even going as far as thrusting his tongue inside.

Harry squeezed his eyes shut and leant with his hands on the sink, the cold porcelain giving some support.

Why had Draco done that? Why had he suddenly decided to kiss him? Had it happened in the heat of the moment? Had he kissed him without thinking clearly about what he was doing?

That sounded logical, Harry supposed. People sometimes did weird things in the heat of the moment. Kissing your best friend while shagging him to impregnate him probably fell into that category.

But still … Draco had caught him off guard with that kiss. Would Draco mention something about it the next time they met? Should he be the one who started talking about it? Or would they just ignore the whole kiss and go on as if nothing had happened?

The last option would be the easiest and most preferable one if you asked Harry. He could already imagine the awkward atmosphere if they talked about the kiss and he preferred not to experience that. It wasn't like that kiss was more life-changing than the baby would be.

Shaking his head, Harry entered his bedroom again and riffled through the closet to find some clothes to wear. Hermione had asked him last Thursday to have lunch at her and Ron's place, stating that it was high time they did some catching up.

It had indeed been a while since they last really took the time to talk with each other, the dark haired man mused. While he was busy at the hospital, Ron was busy with his job as Auror and Hermione worked as a lawyer – in all the years she had worked in the law department of the Ministry, she had never once lost a case which had made her receive both praise and hatred from the other lawyers. But their jobs made it a hassle for them to meet up to chat.

Dressed in a comfortable cotton shirt and a pair of soft jeans, Harry walked downstairs to eat breakfast. After he had eaten, he would look over the few files he had taken with him from the hospital and then depart to his friends' house.

And - a hand briefly dipped down to touch his stomach - in two weeks he would perform the spell that would let him know whether or not Draco had succeeded in getting him pregnant. Normally the potion should have done its job, but it was best to have official confirmation just in case.

The upcoming nine months would be very interesting to say the least …


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: This one is a bit shorter, because I had to cut it in two; it had become way longer than I thought it would be. Still fairly long, though.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments!
> 
> Warnings: Draco's pov; MPreg; nothing else that requires a warning
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes left behind, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 3_

Two weeks after he had had slept with Harry and one week after he had talked to him during a dinner with Pansy and Nott, Draco received a letter from Harry when he was working in his office.

The letter – a plain looking one with just his name scrawled on it – was delivered by a small, brown owl that looked rather ruffled as if it had been fighting against the wind and had only barely won the battle. After Draco had taken the letter, the owl had promptly flown away, clearly being told not to wait for an answer.

Frowning and wondering whether the owl not waiting for a reply was good or bad news, Draco opened the letter and started to read it.

' _Draco_

_I cast the spell to confirm whether or not I'm pregnant. I checked it twice and had my boss perform the spell as well to be extra sure. The result came back positive every time; you're going to be a father in nine months. Congratulations._

_Harry'_

The breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in, left his body with a big whoosh sound when he reached the end of the letter.

He was going to be a father in nine months. Harry was pregnant with his child.

"Oh Merlin," he muttered, feeling a bit dazed. Of course he had expected to hear the positive answer, but it still left him reeling with shock to realize that Harry was really carrying his child now. He would be holding his son or daughter in nine months if everything went well.

Placing the letter down on his desk, he took a deep breath and tried to squish down the feeling of excitement. It could still go wrong after all; Harry was only two weeks pregnant and the first three months were dangerous. The thought of it going wrong wasn't enough to squash the large smile on his face though. He would be a father in just nine months. He would be getting the one thing he didn't think he would be able to get after the Healer told him and his wife the curse took away her fertility.

Astoria, right. He would have to let her know the news tonight. Or should he keep it from her until the three months mark had passed, just to be on the safe side?

He debated with himself over this, but arrived quickly at the conclusion that Astoria would not like it one bit if she was left out, while it concerned her as well. And an angry Astoria was not something he'd like to deal with.

Still with a small smile on his face, he concentrated again on his work.

* * *

Astoria reacted coolly when she heard the news. Draco handed her the letter and she glanced briefly at it, before placing it down on the table.

"This makes him two weeks pregnant?"

Draco nodded. "Yes; two weeks. Still very early, but at least the spell confirmed that the potion worked. Although I want to wait to inform my parents when Harry is three months pregnant."

"To make certain Potter doesn't have a miscarriage," she replied. "I understand." She peered up at him from underneath lowered eyelashes. "If you'd excuse me now, I'd like to go visit my parents."

He nodded and watched how she strode away. Her hair was bound in a tight bun; her dress, a very pale blue that almost seemed white in certain lights, swished around her ankles. Lately she seemed to be going out more and while Draco didn't particularly mind that – after all he hadn't married her out of love – it made him curious as to why she suddenly had decided to visit her family and friends a lot.

Maybe she just needed some space. It probably wasn't easy to deal with the knowledge that your husband had had sex with someone else to continue the bloodline because she wasn't fertile anymore. Add to that that the person carrying the child was a man instead of another woman, and that probably was a blow to her pride as a woman.

 _But_ , Draco thought and turned around, _we talked about it and she agreed with having Harry as our surrogate. She shouldn't have agreed to it if she didn't like the idea_.

He entered the private library – the Malfoy manor had a large central one and two smaller ones and one of the smaller ones had been given to him once he turned seventeen – and sunk down on the comfortable, leather chair that was placed in front of a marble fireplace. The fire, that had been softly crackling, roared to life and grew bigger once it sensed the presence of a human being.

Immediately a house elf popped up next to him. "Was can Dara retrieve for Master Draco?" he squeaked and one of his short, slightly raffled ears twitched.

"The third spell book that was written by Luca Herstel," Draco replied and crossed his right leg over his left. "And a glass of Elven wine," he added absently.

Dara bowed and immediately popped out of view, returning swiftly with the small, hardcover book that was covered with dark purple velvet and of which the pages had already darkened over time to a slightly dark yellow. The colour didn't come as a surprise if one considered the fact that the book was more than two centuries old already.

Draco hadn't even had the chance to open the book, before Dara returned to place a glass on the small, round, wooden table that had appeared out of nowhere next to the chair. The delicate, crystal wine glass was filled half way with a rose coloured liquid and the sweet fragrance of roses mixed with honey drifted into Draco's nostrils.

"Thank you, Dara," he murmured and with another low bow, the house elf disappeared, most likely starting a new task elsewhere in the manor.

Draco opened the book in the middle and started reading immediately. It was a favourite pastime of his to lounge in his private library and read one of the many spell books that were stacked in the large bookcases. It gave him time to relax, despite the fact that most spell books didn't deal with light spells. Actually, most of the spells were probably put on the Forbidden Spells and Curses List by the Ministry when they had started to categorize all the spells, charms and curses during the late eighteen hundred's.

This particular chapter was explaining the difference between the innocent Tracking charm and the more dubious Beholder charm. The Tracking charm could be put on animals and people and was designed to keep track of them, notifying the caster of the charm of the places they went, whenever the caster wished to know that. It was a harmless charm and could be easily removed by the carrier of it at any time. It didn't influence the carrier at all and didn't change anything – it only provided the information about the whereabouts when it was required.

The Beholder charm however had been put on the List by the Ministry because of its dark nature. The Beholder charm didn't simply provide tracking information on the animal or human it was casted on – it forced the carrier of it to remain at all times near the caster. The carrier didn't have any free will left. Where the caster went, the carrier was made to follow. Because of the lack of free will, it had been put on the list. It had originally been created for husbands to keep their wives close to them so they could not be tempted to see other men. Later on, the use of the charm was extended to other relationships other than a wife and husband and to animals as well.

The explanation of each charm and the comparison between the two was very detailed and Draco read attentively further.

He was only made aware of how much time had passed by, when his mother announced her presence and a quick glance at the clock showed him he had been sitting in the library for almost three hours.

"Mother," he greeted her with a small smile and closed the book, laying it down on the table.

A second chair materialized seemingly out of nothing – but was more likely created by the magic of the library, wanting to give each occupant a comfortable chair – and Narcissa sunk down on it, placing her hands in her lap.

"Draco," she murmured and her gaze sharpened, making him straighten his back even more in response. "I was informed by one of the house elves that Astoria left the manor in a seemingly upset state. Did something happen?"

Draco wanted to roll his eyes in exasperation, but years of having the importance of possessing good manners drilled into him, prevented him from doing that. Since they had the discussion about Harry being their surrogate, it seemed Astoria was in a constant state of being upset and he didn't understand why. If she was so opposed to the idea, she should have told him that. It wasn't like he had forced her to accept the idea – at the day of the discussion itself, she had seemed to accept it without any problems.

"I told her some news that normally should have made her relieved, but instead it seems to have made her upset," Draco replied with a sigh.

"Are you willing to tell me about the news? Or do you wish to keep it to yourself?" she asked calmly.

He studied her face intently and she looked back without flinching. He knew he could trust her. While she hadn't been very affectionate when he grew up, she had always been there for him whenever he needed her and he knew she loved him.

"Harry sent me a letter," he began and licked his lips. "He took the potion two weeks ago and today he took the test."

She looked immediately alert. "What is the result of the test?"

"It's positive. Harry's two weeks pregnant," he answered and he couldn't prevent the small smile from appearing on his lips. "I don't want to broadcast it yet, until he's at least three months far, but I thought I should at least tell Astoria the news. I felt it wouldn't be fair if I knew we will be parents in nine months if everything goes well while she didn't. After all, she's going to be the mother of the baby."

A smile suddenly bloomed on his mother's face and he looked at her surprised. "I am going to be a grandmother?" she asked, her voice soft, but with an undertone of excitement.

Draco nodded. "Yes, Harry confirmed it today."

His mother shocked him when she stood up and came over to hug him, the scent of her favourite perfume filling the air and his nose. "I'm so happy, my dragon," she whispered in his ear and drew back to look at him with glittering ice blue eyes. "I know how much you want a child, so I'm happy you finally got your wish even if the means are a bit unconventional."

"It can still go wrong, you know," Draco murmured though he preferred not thinking about it.

"I'm certain everything will be all right," Narcissa replied and she sounded confident. She released him and stepped back. "I'll keep quiet about the news until you're ready to tell your father."

"Thank you," Draco smiled gratefully.

Only their closest friends and family would know the truth of who the real carrier of the baby was. The public would be kept in the dark and only when the baby arrived, would the Malfoy family notify them about the newest addition.

Draco and Harry had already worked out a plan; as long as Harry was able to do his job, he would continue doing so and when he began to really show his pregnancy, he would conceal it with clothes or special belts that were created to give the impression of a flat stomach. The belts would be safe for the baby and wouldn't interfere with its development at all – they had been specifically created for pregnant people who didn't want to deal with the sight of their pregnant body.

It was important that the public wasn't made aware of Harry's pregnancy. Not only would it be shameful of a Pureblood family to admit that the wife of their heir wasn't able to carry a child, but the public would make too much of a fuss about Harry's pregnancy. There would be people who would scorn him for helping the Malfoys and some of those people were likely to attack Harry "to ensure he wouldn't carry any evil offspring of Malfoy". Harry had already been attacked twice by people who thought they could cure him from his "illness" also better known as the fact that he was gay. Then there had been a long time where he had to be careful when he was walking on the streets because there were people who didn't agree that he had befriended Draco.

So to ensure Harry's – and by extent the baby's – safety, he would hide his pregnancy and when someone asked why nobody had seen Astoria pregnant, they would come up with an excuse.

Draco didn't think people would be that interested in whether or not Astoria had looked pregnant or not, but it was better to be safe than sorry.

"You must invite Harry to the manor soon, so that I can thank him properly for giving us the chance of having a grandchild," she murmured and fleetingly caressed his cheek.

"I will," he replied and had to hide a smile when he imagined how embarrassed Harry would be when he was thanked by Narcissa and Lucius. Harry didn't see it as something big; he regarded it as just him helping out a friend like he did all the time, so he wouldn't understand why Draco's parents would be set on thanking him formally.

Narcissa casted him one last knowing look, before she left the library.

* * *

When Harry was three and a half months pregnant, he was scheduled for his first ultrasound. Draco and he had never talked about it and it was only by sheer chance that Draco knew of the appointment.

He had Floo'd to Harry's house to invite him to the manor for a dinner where his parents could thank him. Lucius had been informed of the pregnancy a few hours ago and had only slightly narrowed his eyes, before he had agreed with his wife that they needed to have a small celebration dinner.

"Harry?" Draco called and his head shot up when he heard a thump upstairs. Fearing something had happened to Harry, he immediately ran upstairs and saw light coming from underneath the closed door of the bathroom.

The door wasn't locked, so he opened it and was met with the sight of Harry hunching over the toilet, throwing up what seemed to be his dinner of last night.

At first Draco just stood there, wondering if Harry had eaten something wrong last night, until he realized that it was probably morning sickness that Harry was experiencing.

Without being conscious of it, Draco quickly walked over to Harry and bent down on his knees next to him, rubbing his back soothingly.

Harry jerked up at feeling the unexpected touch and turned his head a bit. "Dr- Draco?" he asked with a scratchy voice and immediately turned his head back to the toilet when his stomach revolted again.

"Yeah, I'm here," Draco murmured and summoned a washcloth which he doused with a small jet of water that he conjured with his wand. He pressed it carefully against Harry's neck while his other free hand continued rubbing his back soothingly.

Harry groaned at feeling the wet cold cloth pressing against his skin and he sat back up, closing the lid of the toilet and he pressed on the button to flush it.

Draco helped him to the sink and watched how the dark haired man grabbed a plastic cup, filled it with water and gurgled it before he spit it back out to get rid of the lingering taste of vomit.

"Sorry for that," Harry murmured and he blushed – probably from embarrassment at having been caught puking, Draco idly thought. "I thought the morning sickness would be over by now, but it seems that the baby insists on getting rid of my dinner." He grimaced and walked back to his bedroom, where he proceeded to change into a shirt and a pair of worn out jeans.

Draco politely looked away, even though he had already seen Harry naked. His hand twitched when he remembered the last time he and Harry had been alone in this particular room and he shook his head to get rid of that thought.

"Is there a reason why you're here so early?" Harry asked and Draco followed him downstairs where Harry opened the fridge to look for his breakfast.

"Yes, my parents want to invite you to dinner tonight at the manor," Draco replied and took a seat at the table.

"Do you want some breakfast?" Harry turned around and looked at him questioningly. "I'm going to make an omelette."

"Sure; I'll make the tea," Draco offered and stood up to rummage in one of the cabinets to find the tea.

"Thanks," Harry smiled and cracked four eggs in a bowl, scrambling them with a fork while a pan was heating up next to him. "Why the invitation?"

"Consider it a 'thank you' for carrying my child," Draco replied lightly and filled the kettle with water to heat it up for their tea.

When he looked at Harry, the man was frowning.

"They don't need to thank me for that," he protested and poured the scrambled eggs in the pan. He grabbed a tomato and began to dice it, before opening the fridge again to take some cheese and he cut that into thin, square slices.

"But they want to. Honestly, it's easier if you just attend the dinner and let them thank you," Draco snorted and looked at him slyly. "Or do you prefer a material gift? I'm certain mother will be happy to shop and buy you a present instead."

Like expected, emerald green eyes widened in horror and he shook his head vehemently. "No, there is absolutely no need to buy me a gift for this!"

"Then you'll be attending the dinner tonight?"

Harry sighed and scowled. "I guess," he muttered and levitated two plates next to him, where he put half of the omelette on each one and threw some tomato cubes and thin slices of cheese on it.

The kettle startled whistling and Draco took it off the fire, pouring the hot water in two cups, letting the teabags steep in it.

While Harry placed the two plates on the table and grabbed the cutlery, Draco put the mugs down, hissing softly when his skin touched the hot ceramic.

"Do me a favour and try to smile tonight – the meal is just to thank you, not to torture you," Draco said dryly.

"I don't need to be thanked."

He stifled the chuckle that threatened to burst out; Harry sounded like a child that was sulking, because it didn't get dessert. "You've known my parents for a while now – you had to have foreseen something like this would happen when you made the offer," he pointed out.

After Harry had swallowed his food, he looked up to scowl. "To be honest: no, I hadn't thought of that. I simply wanted to help you; I don't need to be thanked, because I helped out a good friend – that's what friends do. They help each other."

Draco didn't reply; it was fruitless to try and make Harry understand that Pureblood families didn't see a thing like surrogacy as something light that was easily done between friends. Harry didn't seem to understand just what kind of gift he had offered to his family; a child was regarded highly in Pureblood families, because it assured the continuation of the bloodline. If Astoria had fallen pregnant, she would have been offered an elaborate meal as a formal thank you as well, because she had done her 'duty' so to speak for the family. Afterwards she would have been given a lot of gifts as well, but Harry wouldn't receive those, because he was the surrogate and while the family was grateful for the chance he had given them, he acted as the means to deliver the child and was only considered the carrier and not the mother.

"How is work? Has the pregnancy been giving you problems?" Draco asked casually.

Sitting there in front of Harry he was struck with the realization that apart from the letter he hadn't talked about the pregnancy to Harry until now. Even though they had met up frequently the past few months the thought of inquiring Harry about the pregnancy had never struck him until now. Did that make him a terrible friend? Or a terrible father?

Harry broke through his thoughts and answered, "Work's been good. I haven't had too many problems aside from frequent trips to the bathroom, because I had to puke," he grimaced. "For once I'm glad I'm on desk duty, because if I had to heal while being in this state, I wouldn't get any work done."

"Are you teaching classes?"

"Only four hours each week," he replied. "I'm teaching the results of various diseases, how they can recognize them and how to treat them. Strictly theoretical of course, but it gives me four hours where I'm not holed up in my office, working on files."

"Has your magic been acting up?" Draco asked curiously.

When he had looked up more information about male pregnancy, he had read that pregnant men were more prone to having their magic act up during the pregnancy than women. The reason for it was simple: while women were naturally able to bear children, men had to use magic to gain the ability and that often caused their magic to act up during the course of the pregnancy.

"Not really. I mean, sometimes some of my spells are more powerful than before, but it doesn't happen a lot. I can deal with it." Harry shrugged.

Draco sipped from his tea and glanced at the clock, narrowing his eyes slightly in thought. "How come you're up so early? You're a late sleeper during the weekends."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You finally noticed the hour, huh?" he replied dryly and shook his head. "I have an appointment with my boss, Healer Lyrian, in half an hour."

"An appointment? What for?"

"For the baby of course." Harry stared at him as if he was an idiot for asking a question like that. "It's time for my check-up. It's still too early to discover the gender, but she wants to check whether the baby is developing well."

The fork with a small piece of omelette halted in the progress of being brought to his mouth. Check-up for the baby? He stared blankly at the dark haired man in front of him, who continued to eat his breakfast, as if he hadn't uttered something shocking.

Well, it wasn't shocking to him probably. As a Healer, Harry knew when check-ups were required during a pregnancy and he probably didn't consider a check-up to be that special.

But for him, it was special. It was his baby that the check-up was needed for and he could hex himself for forgetting that check-ups would happen during the pregnancy.

And if Harry wasn't carrying his baby, he would have hexed the idiot for not notifying him about it. If he hadn't shown up today, would he have known about the check-up? Would Harry have informed him what the Healer would have told him about the baby?

Damn it, it was his baby! As the father, he had the right to be notified about the check-ups!

"What?" Harry had finally felt the glare directed at him and looked at him quizzically. "Why do you look so angry?"

"Why the hell didn't you say anything about the check-up?" he brought out through gritted teeth.

Harry blinked. "Why would I?" he asked confused. "I didn't think you would be interested in hearing the scheduled dates for appointments."

"Why wouldn't I be? In case you have forgotten: I'm the father of the baby you're carrying," Draco answered coldly.

"Of course I haven't forgotten." Harry frowned and laid his fork and knife down, ignoring the rest of his breakfast in favour of handling the upcoming argument with Draco. "But Draco, you never mentioned anything about wanting to be present during the appointments. I just thought that if I let you know how the baby was doing and informed you about the progress, that would be enough."

"You never told me about the appointments! Why didn't you ask instead of just assuming I would refuse to be present?" Draco snapped.

"No need to get so angry." Harry narrowed his eyes and his jaw tightened in anger. "It's not like you talked to me about the pregnancy before. I didn't think you would be interested in accompanying me to the appointments. You're not obligated to join me."

"You could have started talking to me about it. You never said a word about the pregnancy to me either!" Draco ignored the small voice that piped up in the back of his head and told him that he could have started talking about the pregnancy first. He didn't like admitting he was wrong.

Harry sighed and rubbed his temples, as if to stave off a headache. "Listen, I'm not in the mood to argue now. If you want to come to the appointment, you're welcome. If you don't want to come, then that's fine as well."

"I'm accompanying you to the check-up," Draco sniffed and drunk from his tea, ignoring the exasperated sigh from the man sitting in front of him.

* * *

"Does anyone aside from your boss know you're pregnant?" Draco asked softly.

They were waiting in Healer Lyrian's office – the grey haired woman had instructed them to wait when she had been called to help another Healer with his patient.

Draco had expected to meet a tall, stern looking woman who wouldn't tolerate any bullshit – sort of like McGonagall – but instead, a short, plump woman with her grey hair in a messy bun and her small, cerulean blue eyes hidden behind half-moon glasses had greeted them with a soft voice before she left them behind in her office.

They had taken the two seats in front of the desk, which was littered with files piled up and papers spread out; some filled to the brim with small, spidery writing, others with diagrams.

Harry turned his head to glance at him and grimaced, making Draco raise an eyebrow in response.

"At my work, she's the only one who knows about it. I had to tell her to explain why I couldn't continue healing, but the rest of the hospital doesn't know and I intend to keep it that way. The less people know about it, the better," Harry murmured and shifted a bit in his chair. "As for my friends …" He hesitated.

"Well?" Draco prompted. He was curious to hear Weasley's and Granger's reaction. He imagined it couldn't have been that good, given Harry's hesitation and their own shared history.

Harry sighed. "Well, Ron and Hermione weren't … too happy about it. If they had their way, I wouldn't have gone through with it, but they have accepted it. Not like they really had a choice," he snorted. "Ron likes to pretend nothing changed, and so far that has been easy for him, because I'm not that far yet. Hermione has given up on lecturing me after she found out I didn't listen when she goes into that mood. I think they are happy to ignore the whole pregnancy for now."

"And your godson and my aunt?" Draco asked curiously. He had met his Aunt Andromeda for the first time when six months had passed after the ending of the war. His aunt and his mother had started talking again and had begun to rebuild their relationship after being apart for so many years. In the beginning their meetings had been rather strained and Harry, he and Teddy had acted as some kind of buffer between the two sisters while they figured out how to repair their bond.

Draco had met Teddy, Harry's godson, on the same day he had met his aunt. The toddler had quickly taken to him and now at five years old, Teddy loved visiting his cousin, though he called him "Uncle Draco" like he called his godfather "Uncle Harry".

"Andromeda thinks I should have tried searching for another surrogate, instead of doing it myself, but she isn't really bothered with it. As long as nothing happens to me, she doesn't mind," Harry replied with a shrug. "I haven't told Teddy yet. I'm not sure whether I should tell him. He might think that the baby will be raised by us, instead of by you and your wife, and explaining the whole progress of surrogacy is a bit too much for a boy of his age."

"So, you're not going to tell Teddy you're pregnant?"

"No, that would require explanations he's still too young for to understand."

The door opened with a slight squeak and Lyrian entered the office, closing the door behind her with an audible 'click'.

She stuffed a file in one of the cabinets that were lined up against the wall and sat down behind her desk, folding her hands together on the desk. She looked at them with sharp eyes.

"Before we proceed with the check-up, how have you been doing, Harry?" she asked and opened a file she had lying beside her.

"I've been doing well."

"Still experiencing morning sickness?"

"Yeah, though it had lessened a bit. Now it's mostly just the mornings that I feel nauseous instead of the nausea popping up throughout the whole day."

She closed the file after writing something down. "That's good to hear." She nodded. "You shouldn't feel nauseous for much longer – I expect the nausea to disappear once you hit the fourth month mark."

"That's good to hear," Harry smiled relieved.

Lyrian switched her attention from her patient to the man accompanying him. "Now, who might you be?"

"My name is Draco Malfoy," Draco replied and eyed Harry from the corner of his eyes. Could he tell the truth or should he just say he was there for support?

Harry took the initiative for him. "Draco is the father of the baby and wants to be present for the check-up," he explained calmly.

"Ah, so you're the mysterious father," Lyrian murmured and there was something in her voice that made Draco stiffen his back and narrow his eyes. He couldn't identify the tone, but he didn't like it.

"All right, if you could please follow me, we'll proceed with the check-up," she announced and led them to another room that was adjoined to her office.

While Harry laid down on the table and pulled his sweater high enough so that his stomach was bare, Lyrian explained what the check-up entailed. Today she would check the vitals of the baby and the growth. The gender would be revealed at the next appointment, which would be when Harry was five to six months pregnant.

Draco had taken his place next to Harry, but was only vaguely listening to what the Healer was saying. His attention was caught by the bare skin of Harry's stomach. He hadn't noticed it at Harry's house, but Harry had developed a small, rounded belly already. It wasn't that visible – it was only noticeable when his stomach was bare and when one had paid enough attention to Harry to know that his stomach had been completely flat just a month ago.

The sight of his naked, slightly rounded belly didn't repulse Draco as he had expected it would; it instead fascinated it and he had no clue as to why it did.

"This potion combined with the Clarus Oris spell will bring forth a screen which will show the inside of your womb," Lyrian murmured and carefully spread out a light blue gel over Harry's stomach. "The vitals of the baby and yours will appear next to it."

She pointed her wand right above Harry's bellybutton and created a complicated pattern that was too fast to follow with the instrument. A small 'pop' sound was heard and blue greyish fog appeared and floated mid-air. The fog seemed to rotate and turn upside down before it halted and took the form of a square. The middle of the square lightened up a bit, though the grey mass occupying the screen wasn't very different from how the fog first looked.

A parchment appeared right next to the fog and letters were formed on the paper soon.

From Draco's position, he couldn't read what the parchment had written, so instead he focused his attention on the screen in front of him.

Lyrian nodded thoughtfully and clucked her tongue. "Yes, yes; good. The baby is doing well, Harry," she said absentmindedly while her sharp eyes studied the paper, floating in front of her face. "The vitals are good and it's growing as it should. Make sure you take more vitamin C though, because you're lacking a bit in that area."

"I will." Harry nodded, his eyes gazing curiously at the screen above his stomach.

Draco wondered if he could locate the baby on the screen until he remembered that Harry hadn't studied obstetrics or anything related to genealogy, but instead had chosen for emergency healing, because his large magic reserve allowed him to give the patient enough Healing to get them stable before a regular Healer or in severe cases a specialized Healer could take over.

"The baby is currently here." Lyrian pointed to the right, lower corner and Draco narrowed his eyes.

He could vaguely make out a small blob, but he supposed he could take Lyrian's word for it that that blob was his baby.

_Merlin, his baby._

Like a punch in his stomach, Draco finally acknowledged that there was a real baby growing inside Harry, his baby, waiting until it was big enough to be born. Until now the idea of a baby had felt surreal, more so because Harry hadn't mentioned anything about it. He had known of course that Harry was carrying his heir, because he had received the letter, but to actually see his baby now on a screen, to see the proof of the baby growing in the form of a slight swelling of Harry's stomach was … incredible. It was … he could hardly find the words to describe how he felt now.

"If you want, I can give you a photo of the baby to take with you," the Healer offered with a small smile and Draco nodded immediately.

"Yes, thank you," he said, his eyes still glued on the screen. He was certain his mother would be ecstatic to look at a picture of the baby. Maybe the photo would mellow his father as well towards Harry. Harry and Lucius had never managed to have a good relationship between them – Draco figured it was because his father had tried to kill Harry several times. They tried to ignore each other as much as possible and when they were put in the same room, they tended to avoid each other, preferring to put a lot of distance between them.

Harry had a good relationship with Narcissa however, and Draco wondered how that was possible. He was happy that his mother and his best friend got along well, but it made him wonder whether it was because Narcissa had never actively tried to kill Harry or because Harry saw in her the mother figure he had never had. It didn't really matter though; Harry getting along well with his mother was a good thing in his mind.

"I bet Narcissa will be happy with the photo," Harry smiled faintly while they waited for Lyrian to complete the progress of producing the photos with a spell.

"It wouldn't surprise me if she framed it to hang it up on the wall," Draco replied dryly, paused and then continued, "Or well, more accurately mother will order a house elf to frame it and hang it up on the wall."

Harry chuckled amused. "Probably."

"Here are some copies of the photo," Lyrian interrupted them and handed over three copies, which showed the mass in the screen vaguely shifting, acting as a regular photo in the Wizarding world would.

She handed a small towel over to Harry to wipe away the residue of the potion on his stomach.

While Harry cleaned his stomach, she continued, "All is going well now, but if you experience anything out of the norm or have questions, you can always contact me. Otherwise I'll see you back at the next appointment."

Harry nodded and slid off the table, pushing down his shirt. "Thank you," he smiled.

She waved her hand. "Have a good weekend."

After saying goodbye, Harry and Draco left her office and Harry gave the blond the three copies.

"Aren't you going to keep a copy for yourself?" Draco asked curiously.

Harry looked at him surprised. "Why would I? It's your child; you can use the pictures more than I can."

Draco accepted the copies, but fished one out of the thin stack and pushed it back into Harry's hand, who looked at him confused. "My parents will have a copy, I'll have a copy, so that leaves one for you," he muttered and looked away. "Just accept it, all right?"

He wasn't certain why he was so adamant on Harry having a copy as well, but the small, fleeting smile the other showed him, made him stop worrying about it.

"I'll see you tonight then."

Harry nodded and smiled weakly. "Yeah, I'll see you tonight. How late is the dinner?"

"Around seven p.m., but my parents want to thank you before dinner starts, so be there no later than a quarter to seven," Draco replied and stared at the other man with narrowed eyes.

Green eyes rolled in annoyance. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be on time," Harry mumbled and seemed to pout.

Draco sighed and hoped that dinner would progress smoothly.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Here I am with the next chapter :) I finally managed to finish the story entirely (just need to edit the next chapters), so I'm thinking of turning to weekly updates from now on. What do you think, guys? The entire story will have eight chapters in total, including the epilogue.
> 
> Thanks for the comments and kudos!
> 
> Warnings: violence; description of wounds; MPreg; shifting in POV's
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of it in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> Tomorrow I'll be posting two Drarry oneshots for Halloween (one of them being the last part in my mini Halloween series) and one Naruto oneshot for the ones interested :)
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa
> 
> Short recap: Harry had his first check-up and to thank him for being Draco's surrogate, the Malfoys have invited him over for dinner.

_Chapter 4_

A few hours later, Draco took his attention away from the two suits lying on the bed when he heard the sound of the door opening and Astoria appeared in the doorway.

"Good evening, Astoria," he greeted her and turned around so he could give her his full attention. She disliked it when his attention was split between her and something else.

"Good evening, Draco." She nodded and closed the door behind her. "I'm sorry for returning so late; my sister and I ended up talking with each other for longer than I had anticipated. She was eager to tell me all about her courtship with Blaise Zabini." One of the corners of her mouth went up a bit, but Draco couldn't say whether it was because of amusement or of disdain.

"Is that so? It seems I have to talk with Blaise then, because he hadn't mentioned the courtship yet," he murmured. It had been a while since he and Blaise last spoke and this news would be a good topic to start the conversation with.

She walked further into the room and the two suits caught her attention. Her blue eyes gazed at him and she raised an eyebrow. "Is there a special occasion?"

"You could say that," he muttered and frowned. "Mother and father want to thank Harry for carrying the baby and are throwing a dinner for him. I'm trying to decide which suit I should wear."

She seemed to breathe in deeply, before letting it out softly and she nodded. "All right, I suppose I should find something to wear as well then. How late will the dinner start?" She made her way over to her own walk-in closet.

"Dinner starts around seven p.m., but Harry will be here sooner so my parents can express their thanks."

He studied her while she opened the wardrobe and searched for an appropriate gown to wear. She seemed to have more luck in making a decision, for she soon selected a gown that was a very deep shade of green that would reach until her ankles and laid it out of the bed. A pair of high heels in the same shade quickly joined the gown.

"I'll be taking a shower then," she murmured and the click of the bathroom door that closed behind her sounded very loud in the otherwise silent room.

With her disappearance, the tense atmosphere that had popped up when she had returned, seemed to dissipate and Draco rolled his shoulders, only then realizing how tense he had been.

Frowning, he turned back to his contemplation of the two suits in front of him, while in the back of his mind hoping that Astoria would soon turn normal again, because he didn't know how to deal with her now.

* * *

"Harry, my dear, I'm glad to see you again," Narcissa smiled and stepped forwards to hug him when he stumbled out of the Floo.

Cursing his clumsiness that reared its ugly head whenever he used the Floo system, Harry hugged her back, breathing in the comforting scent of her rose perfume.

"It's been too long since we last saw each other – you simply must visit more often," she chided him gently and pulled back, smiling softly.

"I'll try," he smiled back and glanced at her husband standing a few feet behind her. He took a deep breath and nodded at him. "Hello, Lucius," he greeted in what he hoped was a neutral voice.

He and Lucius had never managed to be on good terms with each other – like Hermione had told him, there was just too much bad blood between them to ever reconcile.

"Potter," Lucius nodded coolly back and he figured that was the most friendly greeting he could expect to get from the man.

"I know our son probably told you already how grateful we are, but I want to thank you for giving us a grandchild. You don't know how much that means to us," Narcissa murmured and he shifted uncomfortably when he saw her eyes glistening with what looked suspiciously a lot like tears.

"No need to thank me; I just wanted to help Draco, because I know how much he wants to have a child," Harry replied and rubbed the back of his neck. He really didn't understand why they felt the need to thank him, when all what he was doing, was just helping out a friend in need.

_Of course letting your friend get you up the duff isn't exactly what most friends would do for each other_ , a sneaky voice piped up but he ignored it easily.

"Still, it's not a thing that can be taken lightly, so please accept our gratitude," she insisted and squeezed his arms softly, but insistently.

"I accept it," Harry hastily replied and he thought he could hear Lucius snort in disdain.

"I hope you'll enjoy dinner," she smiled again and released him, turning around.

"I'm sure I will," Harry reassured her and looked at the door when it opened to reveal Draco standing there with Astoria next to him.

"Good evening, Harry," Draco smiled and Astoria nodded coolly.

He held back his sigh; he and Astoria had never got along well – not for the lack of trying on his part, because he had done his best to be polite towards her, but she seemed to have decided that he wasn't worthy to be near her. She probably detested him because of his blood status, which wasn't pure enough for her liking and now she probably had got a bigger dislike of him, because he was carrying her husband's child instead of her carrying it. He could understand her frustration about the last part and decided to keep out of her way as much as possible tonight. It wasn't like they were forced to converse with each other, after all. Draco and Narcissa would talk with him enough to not warrant him to talk with either Lucius or Astoria.

It was just dinner. He could do this. He squared his shoulders and followed the small family to the dining room where the house elves were busy putting plates on the table.

* * *

It happened when Harry had almost entered his fifth month of pregnancy. He was walking home from the hospital because Apparating was something he should try to avoid while he was pregnant due to the risk of splinching the baby.

When he was almost near his house, he saw a man with his back to him, dressed in frayed jeans and a leather jacket, staring at his house.

Frowning he halted and wondered whether he should speak to the man or just ignore him.

His decision was made for him when the man turned around and he tensed when he recognized him. His name was Jake Malington and he had been trying for months to ask Harry out. They had met in the hospital when Harry had been Healing his six year old daughter who had been attacked by a dark creature. He was divorced from his wife and once his daughter had healed completely, he had sought out Harry and had asked him out on a date.

Aside from the policy that advised Healers and Medi-wizards to not date patients or family members of patients because it could get complicated, Harry wasn't interested in the man and had gently rejected his offer of a date.

Jake had seemed to take that as a challenge, thinking that Harry was just playing hard to get, because over the course of seven months he had been sending letters and small gifts and sometimes even turning up in this hospital, though security always got rid of him quickly once it was clear that he didn't have any purpose there.

"Harry," Jake smiled and he took a step closer.

In response Harry took a step back and his hand that had been resting in his pocket against the biting cold tightened its grip around his wand. Jake's muddy brown eyes had a dangerous glint in them and he wondered whether the man had taken some kind of drugs or had snapped suddenly. Either way this didn't bode well for him. He had to get rid of the man quickly and without risking the baby that was growing inside of him.

"Jake, what are you doing here?" he asked politely and kept an eye on his hands, ready to cast a spell if Jake so much as moved a finger.

"You didn't answer my last letter," Jake answered calmly, and took another step closer. "I was wondering why. All I asked is just one date. I really like you, Harry and Sophia likes you too."

"Although I'm flattered, I have to decline your offer, Jake," Harry said coolly. If being nice about it didn't work out, he would just show the other man how displeased he was with his advances.

"But why? I know you like me – I could see it in your eyes when we were in the hospital," Jake insisted and his hands clenched and unclenched briefly, but didn't grab for his wand. "You have very beautiful eyes," he mused and cocked his head to the right.

Harry shifted uncomfortably and took a deep breath. "I don't like you, Jake. I don't want to go on a date with you and I want you to stop contacting me."

Jake frowned. "No, you don't. You like me; you're just playing a game, but I've grown a bit tired of playing the game, Harry," he chuckled. "Why don't we go to Diagon Alley? We can go to the new restaurant and afterwards we can go to my house where you can see Sophia again."

He shook his head. "No, Jake. I don't want to go anywhere with you; I don't want to speak with you and I don't want to see you again. Leave now," he snapped, narrowing his eyes. Maybe he should petrify the man and call the Aurors, letting them deal with the man. He was certain this was stalking and that was punishable by law.

Jake narrowed his eyes in response and this time he glared at Harry coldly. "All I want, is just one date, Harry. I'm sure you'll enjoy it," he said through gritted teeth.

"No. How many fucking times do I have to tell you this, before you understand it? I don't want you!" Harry hissed.

He should have listened to Pansy's advice and should have reported Jake to the Aurors once he kept sending those letters. Merlin, when would he ever learn?

Jake surprised him by whipping out his wand and the next moment he had to step out of the way of a Tripping spell. He cursed inwardly; if Jake would keep attacking him, he would have no choice but to retaliate and he wanted to avoid that. Normally he wouldn't have a problem with attacking back, but he had to think of the baby now. He couldn't lose it because some bastard couldn't get it through his thick head that he was rejected.

He was able to raise a strong shield on time before a Cut curse could hit his arm and he raised an eyebrow while throwing the other man an incredulous look. For someone claiming to like Harry, he sure was doing his best to harm him.

The attacks followed rapidly and all Harry could do was inch backwards every time and keep his shield raised. He had been planning on sending a Patronus to the Auror department to request help, but he couldn't find the time to cast the spell, busy as he was with keeping his shield up and firing spells of his own.

He cursed inwardly; he didn't know how long he could keep defending and attacking at the same time before he would grow too tired. But he couldn't keep on fighting like this either.

Suddenly the stream of curses ended and Jake stiffened, a curious look crossing over his face.

"What the …" Harry's eyes widened when he realized what had made Jake stop his assault. A clear, high, painfully familiar voice sounded right behind the corner of his house. "Shit, no," he breathed and felt the first tendrils of panic wrapping around his heart.

A woman with straight, black hair pulled back in a tight bun and dressed in a large, dark blue coat rounded the corner and a small, young boy, who sported unruly, black hair and was dressed in a green jacket and brown pants was skipping right in front of her.

"Andromeda!" Harry shouted in warning, but it was too late.

Before either he or Teddy's grandmother could make a move, Jake had whirled around and had snatched the boy off the ground, holding him up against his chest, with one arm curled around Teddy's small chest, his sneaker clad feet dangling above the ground.

"Make any sound and you'll regret it, brat," Jake hissed in his ear and the small boy cowered in fear, his previously green eyes, now having switched to a brown colour, glistening with tears. He whimpered and his small hands came up to clench down on the strong arm keeping him trapped. "And you, lady, one move and this boy will get acquainted with one of my very nice spells," he spat at Andromeda, who stiffened and lowered her wand again.

"What is the meaning of this?" she asked softly, but her dark eyes betrayed her fury at having her grandson being held hostage.

"It's very easy, lady," Jake murmured and took a few steps back until he was right in the middle between Andromeda and Harry. "You see, I'd like to go out on a date with Harry, because we both like each other, yet Harry here is being stubborn and apparently fond of playing hard to get. If he will just agree to go on a date with me, then everything will be fine. I don't want to harm this boy, but Harry needs to give up on this stubborn act."

Harry grimaced; he understood the underlying threat perfectly. If he didn't agree to go out on a date, Teddy would suffer. He couldn't let his godson be harmed. But neither did he want to go out on a date with a dangerous guy who thought it was reasonable to threaten a young child to get someone to agree with his whims. What would happen if he indeed agreed on a date and the man discovered that he was pregnant? Staring at the crazed look in Jake's wild eyes told him that explaining the situation wouldn't make any difference.

So either his godson got harmed or Draco's baby. How was he supposed to choose?

He couldn't choose. He couldn't let either one of them get harmed.

How could he avoid them being harmed? The answer was simple: by agreeing on a date.

His jaw tightened and he slowly lowered his wand. Only his closest friends could tell when he was lying and he hoped that Jake hadn't stalked him that severely to know when he was lying. He had one chance to get Teddy out of danger and keep himself out of harm's way. He could do this. He may not be an Auror, but he still had retained his quick reflexes from Quidditch and from during the war.

"All right, Jake," he began and slowly walked towards the man, Jake's eyes keeping track of his every movement. "All you want is one date, right?"

Jake slowly nodded, his eyes narrowed in distrust. "Yes, one date to begin with."

"All right." Harry took a deep breath and came to a halt barely two feet away from Jake. "I promise I'll go out on a date with you if you release the boy now."

"You really go out on a date with me?" Jake sounded distrustful, though he had lightened up a bit when he heard Harry's offer.

"Yes, but only if you let him go _now_ ," Harry stressed the last part.

Teddy was staring at him tearfully, but he kept quiet, seemingly trusting his godfather enough to get him out of trouble.

"How do I know you won't Apparate with him as soon as I hand him over?" Jake asked and he licked his lips.

Good question.

Harry gestured at Andromeda. "You can hand the boy to her and I'll keep standing here. You would know immediately if I tried to Apparate," he replied calmly.

For a few agonizing minutes, Jake didn't move and neither did the other two. He seemed to be contemplating something; his eyes would shoot to Harry, before glancing at Teddy and staring at Andromeda. She was standing quietly behind him, her arms loosely hanging next to her sides. Her wand was dangling in her left hand, but Harry knew from experience she could grip it tightly and fire a curse in just two seconds if she had to. Her letting the wand dangle relaxed was just a trick to convince her opponent she wouldn't be quick enough to react.

Harry had seen with his own eyes how quick her reflexes were and the extensive knowledge she possessed when it came to punishing people who had gone too far. Like that one wizard two years ago, who had foolishly thought he could attack Harry for befriending Draco when Harry had a sleeping Teddy in his arms, on their way to home. Andromeda had been quick to react and since then there had been very few incidents.

So if Jake tried something, Harry could trust Andromeda to react on time.

Finally Jake nodded and bit his lip. "All right, fine. I'll give the boy back, but then we're going out on a date." The smile he used was probably meant to be comforting, but it made him look threatening and even madder if that was possible.

"Okay," Harry murmured and nodded.

When Jake was turning around to hand Teddy back to his grandmother, Harry caught her eyes and he pointed one finger at Jake's back, while lifting his wand slightly up to indicate he would subdue the man as soon as Teddy was safe. Andromeda blinked slowly and her eyes shifted a bit, replacing her attention. It was a miniscule movement and Harry didn't think Jake had caught on to it.

Hell, it had taken him almost two years to understand the emotions that Andromeda wanted to convey when she made those particular small movements. He guessed it was part of the Black's upbringing, but he had never asked her.

As soon as he saw that Teddy was safely back in Andromeda's arms, he pointed his wand at Jake, who had yet to turn around, and said, "Expelliarmus,", quickly followed by a, "Incarcerous!"

Unfortunately Jake had turned around quickly as soon as he heard the first syllable coming out of Harry's mouth and his face turned ugly in rage, his pale skin quickly turning a dark red. Before his wand was snatched away by Harry's Expelliarmus, he snapped, "Abscido!" Followed by a "Reducto!" aimed at the ground near Harry's feet.

_Shit!_

The ground exploded and various pieces of stone hit Harry's chest and face, but that stinging pain was of no concern to Harry now. The first spell Jake had cast was speeding towards him in a zigzag pattern, the lime green colour burning intensely. The Severing curse. And it was aimed at his stomach.

He couldn't let that curse hit his stomach – it was best to avoid it, but the pieces of jagged stone had shattered his glasses and blood was dripping in his eyes from the gash on his forehead. The blood and the shattered glass made it difficult for him to see clearly, but he did the one thing he could think off in the little time he had before the curse would hit him: he turned around, ignoring the voice of Mad-Eye Moody in his memory snapping at him to never turn his back towards an enemy, dropped down on his knees and curled his arms around his stomach, murmuring the spell for the Silver Shield, which was a smaller version of the normal Protego spell and was designed to protect certain areas. A silver bubble mixed with tendrils of midnight blue shifted around his stomach and he could feel the cold substance sticking to his abdomen, protecting it from any harm it could befall.

Two seconds later, the Severing curse hit him in his left shoulder and he barely supressed a scream when he felt the curse ripping his flesh apart, together with some muscles, spraying him with his own warm blood.

His ears started to ring and he saw through unfocused eyes how the pool of blood around him started to grow quickly. Too quickly for his liking.

He could hear Andromeda snapping curses in a furious tone, heard Jake's screams of pain before it was abruptly cut off and Teddy was crying in the background, scared out of his wits.

Harry wanted to get up and go to his godson to comfort him and make sure he wasn't hurt, but when he rose up from his position, the world started to spin and soon darkness took over.

* * *

"You were really lucky, Harry," Lyrian murmured and tsk'd when a parchment with his vitals appeared before her. "There is not going to be any lasting damage to your shoulder – keep the bandage around it and put a layer of Healing paste on it before you go to sleep tonight. Use that paste for three days and your shoulder should be fine then. If you hadn't dropped down and leant to the right, the curse would have severed your arm."

"How is the baby? Is the baby okay?" Harry ignored the information he heard about his shoulder. He knew his shoulder would be fine – the fact that he was lying in a hospital bed with his shoulder still intact, wrapped in a white bandage that smelled like the Healing paste and the slight burn of the pain courtesy of the curse, told him he would be fine in a couple of days. The Severing curse hadn't hit anything vital, so he didn't care about a flesh wound.

What he did care about was the fate of the baby he was carrying. Had the shield spell done its work? Was the baby safe or had he been too late?

She sighed and looked at him disapprovingly. He stared back.

"You really should worry about yourself more," she muttered and shook her head, but continued before he could make a remark. "The baby is fine. The Silver Shield did its job well and there was nothing wrong with the baby. Your quick reaction made sure nothing happened to it."

Harry let out a relieved sigh and relaxed in the bed. That was good to hear. He didn't want to imagine what would have happened if he had to explain to Draco that he had lost the baby.

He swallowed at that thought and he put his hand underneath the blanket on his abdomen, feeling the gentle swelling rising up and down with every breath he took and exhaled.

"Is my godson okay?"

She inclined her head. "Yes, he's fine. Scared out of his mind, but his grandmother managed to calm him down. They are waiting outside right now." She fixed her eyes on him, looking very stern. "Do be more careful from now on, Harry. I have no intention of fixing you up every time you get in trouble."

"This trouble wasn't my fault," he muttered petulantly and frowned.

"Aurors will come by later to get your testimony," Lyrian informed him after she had put away her wand.

"Does that mean I have to stay in bed?" Harry flushed a bit at hearing the whiney tone his voice had acquired.

She raised an eyebrow. "Yes. You lost a lot of blood and your body needs rest now."

"But …"

"If you don't rest for your own good, do it for the baby then. All that stress isn't good for it," she pointed out and Harry clamped his mouth shut, recognizing a lost battle when he saw one.

She nodded satisfied and smiled. "Now then, I think it's time for the visitors to see for themselves that you're fine."

"Uncle Harry!" Teddy cried out as soon as the door opened and he stormed in, climbing hastily on the bed to hug his godfather.

Harry hid a wince when Teddy's full weight landed against his chest and rearranged him so that he was lying next to him with his head and an arm on his chest, being mindful that the boy didn't notice the round swelling of his stomach.

A small finger poked softly in the bandage. "Does the booboo hurt?" Teddy asked, biting his lip and Harry grabbed his hand, pulling it away from his shoulder.

"Not so much. The medicine is taking care of it," he smiled and nodded to Andromeda when she sat down next to him on one of those uncomfortable, plastic chairs that Saint Mungos seemed to be fond of.

"I'm happy to hear you're doing all right," she said softly, but her black eyes looked at him reprimanding. "Do try to be more careful next time though."

"I hadn't anticipated him to be that quick with his spells," he grimaced. "What happened to him?"

"I subdued him and the Aurors took him away. That's all I know," she replied with a shrug, but the satisfied glint in her eyes told him that with subduing she meant something entirely different than what he understood of the definition.

He smiled weakly in response, figuring it was best if he didn't ask more questions.

* * *

They continued talking – well, Harry and Andromeda were talking while Teddy was slowly dozing off – until the door suddenly slammed open with a loud bang, startling Teddy who shot up, forcing Harry to drop his arm.

Draco was standing in the doorway and he didn't look happy at all.

"What on earth were you doing that brought you in danger?" he asked through clenched teeth and his eyes quickly glanced at his stomach, hidden underneath the thin blanket.

"Teddy, come, your uncles need some time alone to talk," Andromeda murmured and she took Teddy by his hand, leading him out of the room, while the boy turned his head to stare at the two men until the door closed behind him.

"How did you know that something happened?" Harry frowned and sat up straight.

Draco came to a halt at the foot of his bed and glared. "The Malfoy family possesses a family tree and every new baby gets added to the tree as soon as the person carrying it is one month pregnant. Normally the thread connecting the baby to us and you with me glows a soft gold. Today however both threads started to burn brightly red and the piercing noise of my magic let me know that something happened that put both of you in danger. So what the fuck happened?"

"I was attacked," Harry sighed. "A man who wants to date me was in front of my house and asked me out again. I rejected him again, but Teddy and Andromeda were going to visit me and the man got angry and grabbed Teddy. I managed to convince him that if he gave Teddy back to Andromeda I would go out on a date with him, but when I wanted to subdue him, he was quicker than I anticipated and casted the Reducto and the Severing curse before I managed to disarm him. But don't worry, I ducked on time so that the Severing curse only hit my shoulder and the Silver Shield spell protected the baby, so there is nothing wrong with it," he reassured the blond.

"It only hit your shoulder?" Draco spoke through gritted teeth and his hands came down to clamp around the foot end of the bed. "Do you realize how much danger you were in? What if the Severing curse had hit one of your vital organs? What if it had hit your neck? You could have died!"

"But I didn't," Harry replied calmly. "I ducked on time so the Severing curse only cut my shoulder. I was more worried about keeping the baby safe, considering he had aimed the curse on my stomach. I just need to put the Healing paste on my shoulder for the next couple of days and I'll be fine." He shrugged.

Draco closed his eyes and he seemed to count to ten, making Harry wonder what was wrong with him. He had explained what happened and Draco could see for himself that there was nothing wrong with him. The baby was fine as well, so why did he look so worried still? He should know Harry would never lie about the baby's condition.

"You said you rejected the guy ' _again_ ' – how many times did you reject him?"

Harry's mouth fell open in surprise at hearing the unexpected question. "Eh, around eleven times or so?" he answered uncertainly. He hadn't exactly kept track of how many times he had rejected Jake.

Draco stared at him.

"What?"

"You rejected him eleven times? Did it never occur to you to get a restraining order or so? Because it's clear that the guy didn't get the hint."

"It's not like he was really stalking me – asking someone out isn't a crime."

"If he wasn't stalking you, how did he know where you lived? You didn't tell him that, did you?" Draco's eyes narrowed.

"Of course not! Why would I give my address to someone I barely even know?" Harry said annoyed. "He must have followed me home one time or so. That's the only way he could have known where I lived."

Draco sighed tiredly. "You really need to stand up for yourself more," he muttered.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Harry glared.

"What happened to that guy?" Draco countered with another question, not caring to dignify Harry's question with an answer.

"Andromeda subdued him and the Aurors took him away. I'm supposed to talk with them later."

"Good. After that, pack your stuff, like clothes and toiletries."

"Wait, what? Why?" Harry asked baffled.

"Because you're going to live with me for the remainder of your pregnancy. It's clear that you're still attracting trouble wherever you go and I can't have you getting into danger again if one of your other ' _admirers_ ' decide to follow you home. The next time you might not be so lucky and you or the baby might get seriously hurt; I can't have that happening. When you go back, we'll expand the wards to include part of the street as well and create another ward that will only let people keyed into it see your house."

"What the hell, Draco? I'm not going to live with you! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"

"Yes, I can clearly see that," Draco replied sarcastically and jerked his head to Harry's bandaged shoulder.

"I am fine," Harry repeated through clenched teeth. "I'm okay with your idea of expanding the wards, but I don't see why I should go live with you."

"To keep you and the baby safe, of course." Draco stared at him as if he was stupid. Which he probably was in Draco's mind. "The manor has excellent protection wards and you can use the Floo in your room to get to your work. That way you won't be exposed to danger outside."

"I'm perfectly safe in my home! The attack happened outside of it, not inside, because the wards work!" Harry snapped and crossed his arms.

"And what if you're attacked outside the wards again? You have been lucky so far, Potter, but one day that luck is going to run out."

"You can't keep me inside like some sort of rare pet, Malfoy. I'm staying in my house and that's that," Harry hissed angrily.

"Don't be so stubborn, Harry. There is nothing wrong with you living in the manor for the remainder of your pregnancy. I just want to keep you and the baby safe. You can't guarantee that you won't be attacked again and the manor provides far better protection than your house can. Even you have to realize this." Draco frowned.

"That's why I said you can extend the wards to include part of the street – I'm just not going to live in your manor," Harry replied, wondering how long this argument would last. They were going back and forth and he was developing a small headache.

"Can you guarantee me that you won't get in trouble again? That you won't be in danger after his? If you can guarantee me this, then I'll let you stay at your house," Draco retorted and smirked, knowing he had won this argument.

Harry scowled and clenched his fists. "You know I can't exactly guarantee that," he muttered petulantly.

He wished he could guarantee the safety of the baby and him, but given his prior experiences, both of them knew he would always find a way to get into trouble. Normally that wouldn't be so bad, because he was capable of holding his own, but the pregnancy took a fairly large part of his magic to sustain the womb and help the baby grow. Meaning that in a few months, he would have problems with performing spells that required a lot of magic. If he was attacked then, he would be in serious trouble.

Merlin, he hated it when Draco won the argument. The bastard couldn't keep that smug smile off his face and it pissed him off.

"Indeed you can't. Listen, it's not like I forbid you to go outside for the rest of the pregnancy. You still can, but the manor can provide more protection; the Floo can connect you to the hospital once I reset some wards and nobody would be able to follow you because the wards extend far. For once in your life, choose to be sensible, please?" Draco asked in an exasperated tone.

"You're a real bastard sometimes," Harry muttered and looked away.

Draco smiled triumphantly, realizing the insult was Harry's way of admitting defeat. "I knew you would see it my way." He turned around and walked to the door. "I'll come back later to pick you up after you've talked to the Aurors, so you can pack your bags. I'll let my parents and Astoria know that you're going to live with us."

Not for the first time Harry wondered why the hell he had befriended the infuriating blond.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: Here I am with the fifth chapter :) Thank you for your continued support, guys, I really appreciate it! The chapters turn longer again as well.
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments!
> 
> Warnings: light smidgen of angst; shift in povs
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!

_Chapter 5_

Living at Malfoy manor was … interesting. That was the only adjective that could properly describe Harry's opinion about his new living arrangements.

True to his word, Draco had shown up after the Aurors had ended their interrogation and had insisted on helping him pack his bags, claiming he needed to rest as much as possible and that he shouldn't strain himself. A Stinging Hex had been his reply and Draco had backed off a bit, not wanting Harry's temper to flare up.

It was now two weeks since he had moved in and he was now twenty-three weeks pregnant. He had been giving a separate wing, one floor above Draco's. Harry had protested when the rooms were shown to him, insisting that he was fine with one small bedroom. Narcissa had looked at him in shock, as if she couldn't understand how he could possibly be fine with just one room. Because he hadn't wanted to hurt her feelings, he had given in once it became clear that she wouldn't back down and kept insisting he needed an entire wing for himself.

He hadn't stepped inside in any room, aside from his bedroom. When he had been given the tour, he had seen that the other rooms consisted of one private library, two rooms that seemed to act as some sort of living room (why he needed two of them, he didn't know), a large bathroom and the last room was a nursery.

The last room had made him freeze for reasons he still didn't understand. He guessed he hadn't expected to find a nursery on his floor. After all, all he had to do was carry the baby, give birth to it and then Astoria would take over, so there was no need to have a nursery near him.

Currently he was soaking in the large bath tub after having spent a whole day in the hospital, teaching the students the differences between the various potions and pastes created for healing burns. Afterwards he had been locked up in his office, going through his files to make sure everything was filled in correctly.

He had been glad to arrive in his bedroom when the day was finally over for him. He wasn't really tired, but the band hiding his protruding stomach had been irritating him since he had eaten his lunch and he had sighed relieved when he finally got to take it off after arriving at Malfoy Manor.

He barely had had the time to dress into some comfortable slacks and a light sweater when a house elf had appeared, announcing it was time for dinner.

Harry grimaced when he was reminded of dinner. So far all the dinners he had shared with the Malfoys had been awkward at best and strained at worst. Lucius tended to ignore his entire existence, which suited him just fine. Draco and Narcissa did their best to include him in their conversation, in which they usually succeeded because they reminded themselves to keep to topics Harry was either interested in or at least knew enough about to discuss about it.

Astoria however …

When Draco told him everybody was fine with him moving in, Harry had had the feeling that the blond had been a tad too optimistic and he had been proven right. Astoria really didn't like his presence in the manor.

Oh, she was polite when she talked to him, but Harry could practically feel ice blocks forming around them every time they interacted and he wondered if the rest of the family was just clueless or preferred to ignore her attitude.

Was her icy attitude towards him all because he was carrying her husband's baby? He would have made that assumption, weren't it for the fact that she had always acted coolly towards him. From the moment they had been introduced she seemed to have taken a dislike towards him and her attitude had only grown worse the moment he had fallen pregnant.

Sighing, he stepped out of the bath tub and – dripping on the rug lying in front of the big bath – he reached over to grab a large, soft towel and briskly dried himself. Wrapping the towel around his hips, he entered the large bedroom through a door connecting the two rooms. In order to reach his wardrobe he had to pass a large mirror and he abruptly came to a halt when he caught his reflection out of the corner of his eye.

He turned around and stared at his half naked reflection, his attention caught by his stomach. Until now he hadn't paid much attention to his stomach; the only times he thought of the life he was carrying had been when he had been attacked or when he had to go to his check-ups. Most of the time however his mind was occupied with other things.

Thus he hadn't noticed how much his stomach had grown already.

Without the band creating the illusion of a flat stomach, Harry was free to study his rounded belly and hesitatingly his hands drifted to his protruding stomach and after hovering above the skin for a long moment, he finally touched his stomach, his hands following the curve of it.

It was kind of weird. For so long he had been used to feeling a flat stomach and now it was rounded, feeling very soft to the touch. Was this how all women felt once their stomachs started to grow?

Abruptly he snatched his hands away and crossed the room to his wardrobe, picking out a white T-shirt and dark blue, long pants to wear to bed.

The T-shirt, which had been bought a year ago, was stretched around his stomach, showing off the roundness of it and he stared at it, one of his hands already drifting back to touch his stomach, before he sharply turned around and pulled on his dressing gown, deciding a quick walk through the large garden would clear his mind.

Why his mind felt troubled after touching his stomach was something he ignored.

* * *

"The Delacour family is hosting a party at their manor in Yorkshire," Astoria remarked while she was brushing her long hair. "Are you planning on attending?"

Draco closed his book and stood up to stack it on the shelf next to the window looking out on the garden. "Of course; they are an important family, so it's prudent we attend the party," he replied absently, wondering why his wife felt the need to ask such a question when they had attended all the previous parties thrown by the Delacour family.

He wanted to turn around and climb in his bed, when a movement in the garden called his attention. Narrowing his eyes, he could make out a familiar figure walking slowly over the gravel path, halting every few seconds to study the flowers blooming next to the path.

What was Harry doing outside this late at night?

"Draco, where are you going?" Astoria inquired curiously when her husband walked to the door.

He gave her a quick glance. "I'll be right back; I just need to check on something."

Before she could ask what he had to check at this late hour, he had already closed the door behind him.

Draco passed three house elves on his way to the garden; one was sweeping the floor in the ballroom and two of them were dusting off the various trinkets that could be found in the large hallways of the manor. They barely glanced at him – knowing better than to question one of their masters about his late night trip.

The heavy door leading towards the garden was pushed open and he slipped through the gap, turning his head from right to left. He spotted Harry near the lilies and he briskly crossed the path towards him, the moon illuminating the garden and providing light so that he wouldn't trip.

His footsteps on the gravel alerted Harry to his arrival and the dark haired man turned around, looking at him surprised.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" he asked curiously.

Draco raised an eyebrow and came to a stop when he was barely a foot away from Harry. "Shouldn't that be my question? You're the one skulking around in the middle of the night in the garden," he pointed out.

Harry scowled. "I'm not skulking and it's not the middle of the night yet. It's barely eleven p.m.," he replied petulantly.

"Seriously, what are you doing here?"

"I … wanted to walk around in the garden for a while; that's all." Harry shrugged and turned back around to inspect the lilies closer.

"In the dark?"

"The moon provides enough light for me to see the flowers," Harry answered absentmindedly and lowered his hand to carefully touch one of the flowers.

"Are you going to tell me what's on your mind?" Draco asked casually when a few minutes had gone by in silence with him staring at Harry, who ignored him and continued to admire the flowerbed in front of him.

"Nothing," Harry mumbled irritated and took a few steps further away.

"You expect me to believe you just wanted to walk around at night in the garden for no reason at all?" Draco inquired incredulously.

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but at that moment a gust of wind passed them and he shivered noticeably. It was the end of March and the weather had softened over the course of the month, but that didn't mean it was pleasant to stay outside during the evening. The chilly evenings wouldn't stop for at least one more month.

"You're cold," Draco stated and eyed the thin dress robe that clung to Harry's frame critically. "Why on earth did you choose something that thin to wear outside? Why didn't you just grab a jacket if you really wanted to walk around here?"

Harry sighed impatiently. "I just took the first thing that I saw, all right? Besides it's not that cold."

"You're shivering," Draco answered dryly. "That constitutes being cold when you ask me."

"Well, lucky for me, nobody asked you," Harry muttered and tried to keep his shivering to the minimum, not wanting to admit that the blond was right.

Draco sighed exasperatedly and rolled his eyes. "Come on, let's go back inside. The house elves can give us something warm to drink and you can tell me what's been bothering you." He turned around and he had to wait a couple of seconds before a second pair of footsteps begrudgingly followed him and a small smile secretly appeared on his face for a moment.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, they were seated in a small, cosy drawing room with a cup of camomile tea in their hands, while the teapot was steaming on the triangular table between them.

"So care to inform me what bothered you enough to make you go outside in the cold?" Draco asked when it became clear Harry wouldn't be the one to start the conversation.

Harry let out a huge sigh and several strands of his hair fluttered. "It's nothing, really," he murmured and rolled his shoulders. He took a sip of his tea and rolled his eyes in exasperation when Draco looked at him pointedly. "It's stupid, okay?"

"Let me be the judge of that," Draco replied and raised an eyebrow. Now he was intrigued; what could be bothering his friend that the man perceived as stupid?

"It's just …" Harry struggled to find the appropriate words and a light flush coloured his cheekbones. He ran a hand through his unruly hair and pursed his lips. "It caught me off guard how … how my stomach has grown," he finally blurted out and looked embarrassed.

Draco blinked and stared at the dark haired wizard bemused. Caught off guard? How was that possible? Unwillingly, his eyes drifted towards Harry's waist; he had barely seen Harry without the magical belt and the last time he saw his stomach, he had just had a small belly, barely noticeable. Now however his stomach had grown considerably and his thin dress robe couldn't hide the rounded bulge his stomach had become so far.

"Well, you look fine to me," Draco said and cleared his throat, taking a quick sip of his tea. "I mean, you've been eaten well, but not to the point where it becomes unhealthy."

"I know, it's not … It's just odd, you know," Harry retorted frustrated and he drew patterns on the arm of his hair. "I mean, my stomach has been flat for so long, it's just incredibly weird to suddenly see it … bulging like this." He helplessly gestured to his stomach.

Draco tilted his head to the right and eyed Harry curiously. "Suddenly? Haven't you been paying attention to your waist at all? It's not like you were flat one day and then had a belly like that the next," he couldn't help but point out.

Emerald green eyes glowered at him. "I know, bastard, but I just hadn't been really paying attention to it," Harry snapped. "Tonight was just the first time I really realised that my stomach has been growing quite a lot."

"Do you regret it?" Draco asked carefully after a short moment of silence passed between the two men.

"What? No, of course not." Harry shook his head and placed his half empty cup on the table. "I'm not regretting doing this at all. Am I not allowed to feel out of sorts a bit?"

"Of course you are," Draco hummed. A thin sliver of relief wound itself around him. It was good to hear that Harry wasn't regretting carrying his baby. He would understand it, of course, if he did – it must be odd for the man to be carrying around extra weight; Draco couldn't even imagine how strange that must feel – but still it was good to hear that Harry wasn't having regrets. It would be a tad late at this point, but well …

"When is your next check-up?" he inquired curiously. He had a hard time taking his eyes off of Harry's stomach and he scolded himself. For Merlin's sake, he was acting as if he had never seen someone pregnant before! _But, this is your child that is growing inside of him_ , a voice pointed out in the back of his mind. _That's not the same as seeing any other pregnant person on the streets._

"Right, I wanted to tell you that tonight, but it slipped my mind," Harry smiled wryly. "The next check-up is next Wednesday, because I'll enter the sixth month then."

"How late? I'll be accompanying you again," Draco reminded him in case the airhead had got it in his head that Draco wouldn't be joining him.

"Lyrian told me that she scheduled me for …" Harry suddenly cut himself off with a quiet gasp and his hand immediately flew to his stomach.

"Harry, is something wrong? Do you need me to call a Healer?" Draco asked alarmed and rose up from his seat without thinking twice. His heart thudded painfully in his chest. Was there something wrong with the baby? Was Harry's body rejecting it?

When he didn't receive an answer immediately, he started making his way to the fireplace. He would need to disrupt the wards for this and that would not be an easy task, but he wasn't about to lose his child. "That's it; I'm going to call …"

Harry's hand shot out to grab his wrist when he walked past his chair and Draco spun around alarmed.

"Harry, do you need me to …"

"The baby kicked me, Draco," Harry breathed out and eyes, the colour of forest green, gazed at him in wonder. "I can feel the baby moving."

"What?" Draco asked dazed. Was he hearing correctly?

"Come here," Harry mumbled and pulled at his wrist, so that Draco ended bent over Harry's stomach. A tanned hand grabbed his own pale one and started directing it over the gentle swell of his belly. "Wait a bit; I thought I could feel …" A frown of concentration wrinkled his forehead and then a bright smile bloomed open on his face. "Here, can you feel it?"

His hand was resting near Harry's left side and Draco held very still; even his breathing was shallow while he concentrated. After a short while he wanted to pull his hand back when he couldn't feel anything, until something seemed to … flutter. Yes, flutter was the best description he could come up with for the faint movement he felt underneath his palm. It was like a butterfly landing on his skin and beating his wings against him. The action didn't hurt him, but it was tangible.

His breathing hitched and he stared in amazement at Harry's belly, which was moving up and down in accordance with his gentle breathing pattern.

That was _his baby_ moving inside of Harry. His baby moving around, kicking even. Letting his presence be known.

"I can't believe it," Draco whispered and raised his eyes to look at Harry, who still had a look of wonder plastered on his face. "The baby is actually moving. I can actually feel him moving around."

Harry laughed merrily; his own hand was gently rubbing over his swelling stomach. "I know, right? It took me by surprise; this is the first time I feel the baby moving. It's so strange to feel him moving inside of me, but at the same time it's also nice, you know?" A blush started to fill his cheeks. "I don't know how to explain it exactly, but …"

"No, I understand. I know what you want to say," Draco murmured and carefully moved his hand lower. He furrowed his eyebrows at the shirt that formed one more barrier between him and his baby. Biting his lip, he glanced at Harry uncertainly, who returned his gaze with a questioning look.

"What's wrong?"

"Do you … would you mind terribly if I felt your stomach underneath your shirt?" Draco blurted out his request before he could think better of it and felt himself flush in embarrassment. "Merlin, I'm sorry. I just figured that it would be easier to feel the baby moving, but … That was impolite. Forget what I …"

Harry cut him off with a weak smile. "Go on. I don't mind," he murmured and his voice carried a shy undertone. "It's your baby."

_But it's still your body_ , Draco thought, but after receiving another encouraging nod, he slipped his hand underneath Harry's shirt, which rode up a bit, baring his lower stomach. Harry's stomach felt quite soft, was the first thing he noticed when his hand came into contact with the naked skin. Soft, almost like silk, and quite warm.

The next thing he noticed was feeling his baby move around had become easier with one obstacle removed. The baby wasn't old enough yet to really kick firmly, but it was definitely putting up quite a fuss. Just enough for Draco to feel him – or her, he reminded himself; he could be getting a daughter as well – moving around.

Without being aware of it, his other hand came to rest on the gentle swell of Harry's stomach and his thumb started to caress the soft skin back and forth slowly. His eyes were trained on the pale stomach – not as pale as his own skin, though – and he couldn't help but wonder if Astoria had been pregnant, whether she would have allowed him to touch her stomach to feel their baby moving around. Somehow he couldn't imagine her allowing such a thing; she would probably even ridicule him for touching Harry's stomach now.

Ah, that was the fundamental difference between Astoria and Harry of course. If Harry was warmth, she was coldness.

His hands stilled and he stared at Harry's stomach in contemplation. He had known from the very beginning that Astoria tended to be quite cold; he had considered it as a way for her to keep control over her emotions and had praised that particular quality, but now that same quality irked him a bit for reasons he could not name. Would she act cold towards the baby as well? As far as he knew, she had no experience with children at all, being the youngest of two daughters, and while a cold attitude was appreciated when dealing with mere acquaintances, Draco couldn't bear the thought of her acting cold towards the baby. He knew better than anyone how it felt to grow up with a parent whose demeanour seemed set on Antarctic cold the entire time and while he respected his father and loved him, he didn't wish for his own child to grow up like he did.

"Draco?" Harry's hesitant voice broke through his musings.

"Hm?" His eyes shifted from Harry's belly to his face slowly; his hands still covering his stomach.

"I …" Harry trailed off when their eyes locked onto each other.

Silver grey met emerald green and time seemed to stop for a moment that seemed to stretch on endlessly. The atmosphere between them grew charged with something the blond could not name and something deep inside of him stirred; a sensation he couldn't identify as he had never felt it before.

Their magic was buzzing around them like a swarm of bees in the middle of the summer and he felt himself leaning forwards, drawn by the way those green eyes glimmered like gems in the light of the fire.

He became suddenly aware of the way muscles quivered gently underneath his touch; how warm and soft the bare skin felt underneath his fingertips and the way warm breath caressed his mouth and cheeks.

What was the sensation simmering in him? It didn't feel bad; it made him feel quite light in fact and warm, as if he had drunk the special chocolate drink of the house elves that never failed to warm him up from the inside out.

Forest green was slowly being eaten away by endless black. Looking inside the quickly expanding pupils was like looking at the night sky when he lay on his back: it drew him in and made him feel insignificant, as if he wasn't worthy of setting eyes on the magnificent sight.

"Does Master Draco and Master Harry requires more refreshments?" a house elf squeaked out of the blue and hearing its shrill, high pitched voice was like being doused by ice cold water.

Draco froze when he became conscious of their position: Harry was still seated in his chair, one hand placed on top of his stomach, but the other was suspended in the air between them as if he had been reaching out to touch Draco before they were abruptly interrupted by the house elf.

Draco's position wasn't that much better: his hands were still covering Harry's stomach, but he was leaning quite close to Harry and if he had moved his head two inches further, his lips would have touched Harry's.

Harry seemed to have taken notice of their peculiar position as well, because his eyes widened and his cheeks quickly filled with a red blush.

Clearing his throat, Draco pulled back and took a couple of steps backwards. He turned around to face the house elf and to give Harry a moment to adjust his shirt as well, as the T-shirt had ridden up quite a bit.

"Pipsky is sorries for interrupting Masters, sir," the young house elf squeaked in fright and it tugged harshly at its long, wrinkled ears. "Pipsky wills be punishing himself, yes, he will, sir."

"No, wait, there's no need," Draco sighed wearily when the house elf attempted to run towards the wall, presumably to bash his head against it. "No need to punish yourself, that's an order, Pipsky. You can take the cups and teapot with you. We'll be retreating to our rooms."

Pipsky still looked like he wanted to do nothing more than to repent for having disturbed his masters, but as a house elf he couldn't ignore a direct order and after offering a deep bow – his long, pointy nose brushed the floor – he started collecting the tea set quietly.

The creaking of the chair alerted the blond wizard to the fact that Harry had stood up.

"I – I'll go back to my room now," Harry muttered awkwardly and he seemed intent on avoiding Draco's eyes.

Draco swallowed and nodded rather jerkily. "Yes, goodnight."

"Goodnight," Harry murmured and practically fled out of the room, leaving Draco standing in front of the dying fire.

Something dangerous had nearly happened and it made him clench his eyes shut in frustration.

Just caught up in the moment, he reassured himself as he made his way to his bedroom. Nothing more. It couldn't be anything more.

Astoria didn't stir when he slipped inside their bed; unlike Draco, she was a heavy sleeper. The war had barely marked her, while it would always be a part of Draco; he knew instantly when someone entered his room, no matter how deeply he slept. Harry was the same way, he recalled from a conversation a year ago. The dark haired Saviour had admitted to having trouble sleeping as well and he would wake up at even the slightest disturbance.

Grey eyes slid to light blonde hair that was braided together; the braid shone silver in the moonlight.

Well, he couldn't fault Astoria for being a heavy sleeper; it was good that the war hadn't marked her so deeply. It might cause some misunderstandings at times – Astoria seemed to have trouble understanding that he didn't appreciate her coming up from behind without any warning – but such misunderstandings could be found between every couple.

He burrowed himself deeper underneath the sheets; his wand put underneath his pillow in case he needed to grab it immediately.

Right before sleep fell over him, he realised that Harry had never told him when the check-up was scheduled.

* * *

"How are you feeling now, Harry?" Hermione asked and her warm, brown eyes studied him worriedly.

He chuckled, leaning back into his chair. "I'm fine, Hermione, really," he reassured his best friend.

Today he only was scheduled to catch up on paperwork before he went to his appointment with Lyrian and Hermione had decided to pop by as she was in between two cases.

She huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'm only worried about you," she muttered petulantly and regarded him shrewdly.

"What?" he raised an eyebrow and sipped from his cup of Earl Grey tea.

"How is Malfoy treating you?"

He lowered his cup on his desk and pushed it forwards. "He's been treating me like always," he replied calmly. "Why the sudden inquiry?"

"Well, you're carrying his child for him," she pointed out and glanced at his midsection. "The least he can do is care for you well."

"I have nothing to complain about," he murmured and absentmindedly caressed his stomach. Ever since that night that he had become aware of the baby moving inside of him, he caught himself touching his stomach more and more. He wanted to refrain from doing that, but it felt almost like instinct to touch his stomach as soon as he felt a slight kick.

"Is, eh, is your baby … Can you feel it kick?" she asked curiously when she took notice of how his hand was positioned.

"Hm? Yeah, since last week," Harry smiled and a hint of excitement wormed its way into his voice. He couldn't help it; feeling the baby moving around, kicking him, had something magical. That was a cliché, maybe, but it was the truth. He couldn't help but marvel about the fact that the baby was now big enough to make his presence known. "The baby is kicking now actually. Do you want to feel?"

She looked surprised at the offer, but a glimmer of eagerness danced in her eyes and she rose up from her chair and walked around the desk to place her hand on his stomach. He was wearing his belt so to outsiders it looked like she was touching his flat stomach.

Her mouth fell open in an 'o' shape when she felt the faint push of what Harry suspected was the baby's hand.

"It's so …" She seemed speechless.

"Strange?" Harry laughed and shook his head. "Yeah, it took me a bit to get used to it. Took me by surprise when I first felt the baby moving."

"Has Malfoy …" Hermione looked hesitantly. "Has he felt the baby moving yet?"

He couldn't help but stiffen a bit when he recalled what had happened that evening. Or what had almost happened, anyway. And what could never happen. It was just the excitement of feeling the baby move that had confused them, he reminded himself and forced himself to relax.

"Yeah, when I felt the baby kick, he was with me, so I let him feel," he answered and avoided her suspicious eyes.

"Did something happen?" she asked and retracted her hand.

"Happen? No, why do you think something happened?" he asked in a forced light tone.

"Harry, I'm not stupid. I've known you since I was eleven." Hermione frowned and eyes him concerned. "So, please tell me: what happened?"

"Nothing, Hermione, I …"

A knock on the door made him shut up and they both turned their heads to the door when it opened, revealing Draco with his cloak hung over his arm. A blond eyebrow was raised when silver grey eyes landed on Hermione.

"Granger," he murmured benignantly and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Malfoy." She nodded coolly back.

Harry checked a sigh. No matter how much time passed, his best friends would never be completely comfortable around Draco. He could understand why, but it still bothered him to see the people dear to him act like wary cats around each other.

"It's time for the check-up, Harry," Draco announced and glanced at his watch.

"Oh right." Harry blinked and stood up. "I didn't know it was this late already." He turned to face Hermione. "Are you going with us?"

She shook her head with an apologetic smile. "No, sorry, Harry. I need to go back to my office. I have a new client showing up and rumour has it she's very punctual."

"All right then, have fun with that," he smiled and hugged her back when slender arms came around him.

Both Hermione and Draco didn't deign each other worthy of a good bye or even a glance as she slipped past him out of the door.

"Let's go. Lyrian will be waiting for us," Harry announced and after shuffling some paper back into the appropriate file, he locked the door to his office when they both stood in the hallway.

The tense posture of Draco and his stiff manner of walking next to Harry couldn't be dismissed and Harry frowned, reaching out with his hand to touch Draco's arm.

Draco jerked his arm away and looked at him surprised.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked softly when they stepped into the elevator that would bring them to Lyrian's floor.

Draco sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair, ruining the immaculate styled strands. "Astoria and I just had a small disagreement, nothing more," he muttered and shuffled closer to Harry when a rather heavy set man stepped inside the elevator on the next floor.

It didn't look like a small disagreement to Harry, but he wisely kept his mouth shut. It wasn't his business anyway what went on between Draco and his wife.

Lyrian greeted them with a gentle smile when she opened the door after Harry had knocked.

"Come in. Good afternoon," she said and ushered them inside. "So, Harry, how have you been feeling? Anything in particular that you want to mention before I start the examination?" She led them to the adjoining room where Harry climbed on the table.

"No, I've been fine," he answered and lifted his shirt so that his stomach was bare. He removed the belt and placed it next to him before he laid down. The magical belt would block the spells Lyrian needed to use on him, so for now it would have to stay off. The sudden sight of his rounded belly disoriented him for a short moment and he blinked.

Draco wandered over to stand next to him and Harry caught him glancing at his stomach fascinated. Their eyes met briefly and they looked away at the same time.

The light blue gel Lyrian had used on him during the first check-up was spread over his stomach again and the spell she used next brought up the square screen again which showed the baby fussing.

"Looks like your vitals and that of the baby are good," she murmured while her eyes shifted across the parchment. "You don't have any vitamin deficit anymore either, which is also good."

"That's good to hear," Harry murmured and his eyes stayed locked on the screen. Curiosity grew in him; he really wanted to hear whether the baby was a boy or a girl. The baby kicked as if in response to his thoughts.

Lyrian chuckled merrily when she caught sight of both men's attentive gazes on the screen. "I suppose you want to find out whether the baby is a boy or a girl?" she inquired amused.

"Yes, please," Draco mumbled and shuffled closer to the table. His right hand came to rest on it, close to Harry's arm. "That will make it easier to choose a name."

"All right, give me a moment. It will depend on how your baby is positioned," she warned and studied the screen attentively.

Several minutes went by and Harry was already prepared to hear that the baby wasn't in a good position to discover the gender, when the Healer uttered a sound of satisfaction.

"Yes, it took a while; sorry for that. But the baby turned around and it appears that you're going to have a son, Mister Malfoy," she smiled.

Then Draco did something Harry had never expected of him.

He stammered with wide eyes, "A – a son? It's – it's a boy?"

"Yes, Mister Malfoy," she smiled indulgently. "You're going to have a baby boy."

It seemed to be a day of Draco acting unexpectedly, because the next moment his arms were around Harry, pulling him up so that he awkwardly hovered with his back above the table and had no choice but to clutch his arms around Draco's shoulders if he wanted to avoid cramped muscles.

"A boy! It's going to be a boy!" Draco practically crowed into his ear and the excitement wafted from him, floating around him like a cloud. "A son, Harry, you're giving me a son!"

Harry laughed gently, patting his back. "Yes, you're going to have a son."

He had to admit that he never expected Draco to become so happy about the revelation of the gender, but it was nice to see how excited he had become. The news seemed to have really cheered him up after his argument with Astoria.

Throughout the rest of the check-up, Draco kept beaming proudly and he even went as far as cleaning Harry's stomach with the towel Lyrian offered him before the dark haired wizard even had the chance to do it. When Harry protested and tried to snatch the towel, Draco fended him off and muttered something along the lines of Harry not needing to exert himself too much. The dark haired wizard wanted to remind his friend that he was pregnant, not an invalid and thus perfectly capable of wiping his own stomach clean, but one look at Draco's determined face and he had given in with an exasperated sigh.

Even Harry's reluctant concession of having Draco clean his belly wasn't enough to put a damper on his ecstatic mood.

_It's a wonder he hasn't started whistling yet_ , Harry thought amused and watched how Draco eagerly accepted the new pictures of the baby before Lyrian left to visit her next patient.

"You want to grab some lunch?" Draco asked and pressed one of the pictures into Harry's hand.

Knowing better than to protest the picture, Harry simply accepted it and put it in his pocket. "Yeah, why not? I'm starting to become hungry."

The whole way to a new restaurant that had opened a couple of doors past Saint Mungos – and which advertised complete privacy for everyone – Draco kept chattering about the baby, speculating about the way his parents would react to the news they would get a grandson while Harry walked next to him with a soft smile adorning his face.

* * *

Two days after the appointment, Draco, Harry and Draco's mother were seated at the breakfast table. Lucius had a meeting with Severus and Astoria had decided to have breakfast with her sister, who presumably wanted to chatter about her growing relationship with Blaise.

"We can start shopping for baby clothes next week," Mother announced as she browsed through a magazine dedicated to the latest fashion when it concerned baby clothes.

"We?" Harry repeated blankly; his fork with a piece of his scrambled eggs hovered in the air in front of his mouth.

Mother looked at him bemused. "Of course, darling, you're coming with me. I need your opinion; after all you're carrying my grandson," she replied frankly. Her blue eyes twinkled in excitement. Two days after being told and she was still over the moon with joy that she would get a grandson.

Harry opened his mouth – probably to protest, judging by the petulant look on his face – but Draco quickly interrupted him, "Harry, seriously, there is no point in arguing. Just accept that you'll be going shopping with mother."

A heavy scowl was directed at him for siding with his mother, but his friend refrained from commenting when a light grey owl came flying through the open window, hooting.

"Isn't that Aunt Andromeda's owl?" Draco asked curiously.

"Yes, it is." Harry nodded absentmindedly and accepted the letter, giving the owl a few bacon strips that the animal tore into enthusiastically.

Green eyes went back and forth over the parchment, brows slightly furrowed, while a hand rubbed slowly over his stomach. Draco wondered whether the baby was kicking again and had to restrain the odd urge to go around the table and feel Harry's stomach.

"Andromeda asks whether I can attend Teddy's birthday party," Harry explained and placed the letter on the table, looking at it contemplatively.

"He's turning six, isn't he?" Mother asked interested.

"Yes, next Saturday," Harry murmured.

"Why not have the party here?" Mother suggested lightly.

Draco cast her a surprised look, but she ignored him, focusing her attention on a bemused Harry.

"Eh, are you sure about that?" he asked uncertainly.

"Of course, I wouldn't have suggested it otherwise. This way I can see my sister and Teddy again and you'll be protected by the wards," she replied airily.

Draco quirked a small smile; ah, so that was her reason for holding the party here. She didn't want Harry outside the protective wards of the Malfoy Manor. Not that Draco could blame her; too many things could go wrong when it involved Harry.

Harry rolled his shoulders. "I can take care of myself. And the baby," he added wearily.

She reached out with her hand and patted his arm gently. "I know, Harry, but I would be more comfortable if the party can be hold here. I just want to keep both you and the baby safe."

For some reason Harry could barely say no to mother and this time it was no different, as he acquiesced with a grumble and he excused himself, saying he would write a letter back with the suggestion.

"How come you're able to convince him to stay safe and he always argues with me?" Draco asked petulantly. It bothered him for reasons unknown to him that Harry was always ready to argue with him, never mind when Draco was the more sensible one of the two, but he agreed without too much fuss when Draco's mother suggested something. What on earth was mother's secret?

Mother chuckled and closed the magazine. "We merely have different ways of approaching him, dear."

And with that cryptic remark, she left him at the breakfast table.

* * *

Draco didn't know when he had become so attuned to Harry, but the fact was that in a fairly crowded room, he instantly noticed when Harry left the birthday party, looking a bit peaky.

"Teddy, I heard that your Aunt Cissa has some special cookies made for you," Draco interrupted the chattering boy, who looked at him with interest lightening up his dark green eyes. "Why don't you go find her?"

"Okay, Uncle Draco," Teddy chirped and while he dashed towards Draco's mother, his hair changing from a near black to a bright blond, Draco inconspicuously made his way out of the room, dodging a quite sour looking Astoria (who had not been happy to attend the birthday party of someone who wasn't immediately related to her and did not have any important influence in the world yet – sometimes Draco wondered when she had become so cold) and a Granger hell bent on discussing some kind of politics relating to Centaurs with him. Why she needed to pick him as her victim was a mystery he liked to leave unsolved.

The sharp contrast between the noisy room and the silent hallway once the door closed behind him was quite jarring and he shook his head.

"Milla," he called out softly and the house elf, appointed to Harry since he came to live in the manor, popped up immediately.

Her large, brown eyes looked at him quizzically. "Yes, Master Draco?" she squeaked; she still held a broom in her long, spidery fingers.

"Do you know where Harry went?" he asked, his eyes slightly narrowed.

"Oh yes, Master Draco, Master Harry is being sitting in the sunny room," she replied immediately.

"Okay, you can go back to your duties," Draco murmured and didn't stay long enough for the house elf to bow. The Sun room was on the second floor and it had received its name due to the fact that it received the sunlight at all time. Whether it had to do with the particular way the manor was built or some nifty spells from his ancestors was something Draco had never been able to figure out.

The door was ajar when he walked up to it and he slowly opened the door, wondering why Harry had come to this particular room. If he wanted to rest, it made more sense to go to his wing.

Harry was sitting on the broad windowsill when Draco entered the room. The magical belt that kept his pregnancy hidden from Teddy was put next to him. His light blue robes rustled when he turned to face Draco; his hand rubbing over his stomach.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" he asked surprised and a wince passed over his face. He shifted on the windowsill.

"I could ask you the same thing," Draco retorted dryly and approached him. "Are you tired?" Sharp, grey eyes took in the slight look of exhaustion lingering in forest green eyes.

Harry smiled weakly and shrugged. "A bit. Your son is kicking up what seems to be like a storm. He has apparently decided that my organs should serve as his personal punching bag. Oomph," he grunted and grimaced.

"I thought babies calmed down if you walk around?" Draco murmured rhetorically and without thinking twice, he knelt down in front of a flabbergasted Harry and pressed his ear against his rounded belly. A harsh kick aimed at his cheek made him retract hastily and he looked incredulously at the bulge. "A tad fierce, aren't you?"

Harry snorted and looked amused. "I told you, didn't I? He hasn't calmed down since he started kicking twenty minutes ago. Apparently he disagrees with my eating treacle tart." He pouted.

"Who wouldn't protest against that? My son just has taste, that's all," Draco sniffed and gingerly placed his hands on either side of Harry's growing stomach. Something that felt vaguely like a hand pressed back against his left hand and he smiled. "That's right, you have taste, don't you? You don't want that nasty treacle tart, right?" A softer kick this time. Grey eyes shifted to eye Harry amused. "See, he agrees with me."

"Of course he would. Papa's little boy," Harry muttered amused. "But you're both wrong; treacle tart is the best there is."

"Don't listen to him," Draco addressed his unborn son again. "Harry has no clue what sophisticated food really is. Treacle tart does not belong to that category. Now if you like that triple chocolate vanilla cake, I could understand. That one is heavenly."

Another push of a foot, equally gentle as the previous one.

"Keep talking; it looks like he's calming down," Harry whispered and rubbed his neck in relief.

Draco blinked and felt his cheeks flare up a bit. He had no clue why he had started talking to the baby; until now he had been content with occasionally feeling him move around. He had thought it would be awkward to talk to the baby or unwelcomed by Harry, but considering Harry was practically urging him on and well, it was _his_ son …

"So just so you know, your grandmother has been buying a lot of clothes for you already," Draco continued and rubbed soothing circles on Harry's stomach. "I believe her next course of action is to buy you various toys, even though you won't be able to play with those decently until you're at least seven months old or so. Honestly it wouldn't surprise me if your grandmother threw a party to celebrate your birth a day after it happens."

He smirked when he heard Harry chuckling. "Your cousin Teddy will probably be impatient to play with you as well. You might even be fought over by your cousin and your Aunt Pansy. It wouldn't surprise me one bit if she has started buying her own collection of toys for you to play with when you visit her."

For the next twenty minutes he kept talking to his unborn son, speculating about all the things their various family members and friends would do and buy for the boy. He wisely kept his mouth shut about Astoria; he wasn't blind nor stupid: he had seen the way Astoria acted around Harry and now that the dark haired man was slowly relaxing, he saw no need to mention her. He ignored the dark voice in the back of his mind that told him it wasn't normal to keep quiet about his wife just to avoid upsetting his friend.

_He's carrying my child_ , he shot back at the voice. _The least I can do is avoid upsetting him when it is possible._

His voice grew hoarse after a long time of talking and he cleared his throat gently, rising up again from his knelt position with a soft groan as his knees protested at the sudden change in position. One of his hands remained on Harry's belly, rubbing it gently.

"Thanks," Harry whispered and looked at him gratefully. "He's calmed down. It looks like he really likes hearing you talk."

"I'm glad to hear that. If he becomes too fussy, I, you know, wouldn't mind talking to him again," Draco muttered, a bit embarrassed and glanced away.

"Well, it's your son, so if you want to talk to him, you don't need to wait until he's fussy," Harry mumbled and his voice carried a shy undertone.

Something compelled him to look at Harry and the golden aura from the sun seemed to cast an ethereal glow around his face, illuminating the few dark red strands scattered throughout the black hair. His emerald green eyes glowed from deep within as if someone was holding a lit candle behind an emerald stone.

It suddenly struck him how beautiful the dark haired wizard was. He didn't think he would ever use the word 'beautiful' to describe a man, but it seemed to fit for Harry. Harry, who despite their less than pleasant past had still decided to give him a chance. Harry, who was willing to carry his child for him, despite the restrictions and the drain on his magic it imposed. Harry, who was giving him the most precious gift he would ever receive in his life. Harry, who was selfless enough to help him.

His hand slipped from the rounded belly to Harry's back, resting right above his buttocks. His other hand cupped Harry's cheek, his thumb caressing his cheekbone.

Unfathomable, dark green eyes locked onto his and pale rose lips opened slightly. Something stirred in him, urging him to get closer to the other man in front of him.

This beautiful man who was giving him more than he deserved.

"Beautiful," slipped out of Draco's mouth …

Right before their lips met and a feeling of rightness sunk its claws in the blond wizard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: Aaand we have entered the angsty part of the story. From now on angst will be popping up quite frequently.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> Next chapter will have both men dealing with their feelings :)
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: I didn't expect so many reviews, guys :O Not that I'm complaining of course - keep them coming, I'd say ~ Think we can beat the record of the previous chapter?
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and comments!
> 
> Warnings: as mentioned angst; time skips; more explanation regarding the birth
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter - despite the angst.
> 
> I'll admit that writing this chapter and the next one took quite some time. Writing the transition between them being friends and them becoming lovers was more difficult than I anticipated. Nevertheless I hope I didn't screw it up too badly.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought about it in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> Next chapter will contain the birth and more drama.
> 
> See you all in the next chapter!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 6_

Whether it was because of the hormones rampaging through his body, bringing everything out of balance or deep, underlying feelings that rose up to the surface at last, breaking through violently, Harry found himself kissing Draco back urgently. Their lips slid across each other, their noses bumped gently and he raised his hands to burrow them through fine, blond hair. The hand on his back firmly pressed him closer to the blond and the gentle swell of his belly rested against a hard stomach. The taste and scent of Draco surrounded him, drowning him in a musky haze. A tongue pushed against his closed mouth and without hesitation, his lips spread open, welcoming the foreign intrusion in his mouth.

A voice in the back of his mind was screaming at him, demanding him to stop, pull away, push Draco away – do anything that would stop this madness from continuing, but he was helpless, washed away by the burning fire that was steadily building up between them, as their breath mingled together and their lips bruised and swelled underneath the desperate touch.

Had a kiss always felt like this? This overwhelming? Making him feel helpless and weak in his knees; his heart thumping too quickly inside his chest while butterflies raced through his stomach? He had kissed other people before – he had enjoyed kissing with his former boyfriends, but he couldn't recall ever feeling this affected by a simply kiss.

It was as if time was suspended between them; they being the only beings in the universe.

The hand on his cheek slipped into his hair, fingers gently threading through the locks and his head was pulled back a bit, giving the older man the chance to deepen the kiss more, ravish him completely.

A moan of pleasure rose up between them and it was that sudden noise, coupled with their harsh breathing that snapped Harry out of the daze he had fallen into when those soft lips had captured his and horror filled him instantly at the realisation of what had just happened.

Panicking, he pushed against Draco's shoulders, harshly shoving him back, ripping their mouths apart.

Draco stumbled back and stared at him with dark silver eyes, pupils blown wide. His blond hair – immaculate when he had entered the room – was completely messed up, courtesy of Harry's wandering hands; a rose flush covered his chiselled cheekbones and his mouth was red, swollen, and parted while he panted loudly.

Harry himself was trying to get his breathing under control, while his heart madly pumped inside his chest. Shocked he stared at the carpet and tried to get his head around the fact that he had _just been kissing Draco Malfoy_. His best friend, father of the baby growing inside of him, and most importantly: the husband of Astoria. He didn't know what was worse: the fact that he had kissed his best friend back, destroying the boundaries that had been between them, or that he had been kissing a married man.

Fuck, fuck, this wasn't supposed to happen! Why the hell had Draco kissed him? Why the fuck hadn't he stopped him? He should have stopped him, should have pulled away, but instead he had returned the kiss and his cheeks seemed to burst out in flames when he recalled how thoroughly he had enjoyed the kiss. He had never been kissed like that before; their kiss had started out gentle, but it had grown until it was hungry, passionate, possessive. His knees still trembled when he remembered how thoroughly the blond had snogged him.

Oh god, they were in deep shit.

"Harry," Draco breathed out and slowly the realisation of what had just happened seemed to settle in his brain, for his eyes grew wide in shock.

"This – this wasn't supposed to happen. Why did it happen? We shouldn't have kissed," Harry babbled and ran his hands through his hair distressed. "It wasn't … I didn't …" He looked at Draco accusingly. "Why the hell did you kiss me?! You're married for fuck's sake!"

"As if I don't know that!" Draco snapped and ran his own hand through his hair, tugging at it harshly. "You kissed me back! You could have pushed me away and you didn't! So this is as much your fault as it is mine!"

"I know, but you're the one who fucking kissed me first!" Harry snarled and clenched his hands around the edge of the windowsill. "Why the hell did you do that?!" His anger – which had been building up, fuelled by his shock and distress – abruptly left him when he was faced with the look of utter helplessness on Draco's face.

"I – I don't know," Draco whispered and stared at him destitute. "I just …" He visibly swallowed. "I just … wanted to kiss you. So I did."

"But why?" Harry asked bewildered and his fingers slowly unclenched; they felt slightly cramped from the tight grip he had had on the windowsill.

Draco shrugged and the helpless look changed into a weary one. "Why did you kiss me back?" he shot back.

"I …" Harry looked down, not knowing what to respond. Why had he kissed him back? Because he wanted to. That was the simple reason. As soon as Draco's lips had descended upon his, a feeling of … rightness had fell over him. It just felt right to kiss him back. He hadn't thought at all of the consequences that would result from their kiss. What on earth were they supposed to do now? They had _kissed_ each other. This time they didn't have the excuse of being overwhelmed by lust like when they had shared a kiss when Draco had impregnated Harry. They had just kissed. Just like that.

And with one simple kiss they had forever changed their relationship. How could they go back to being friends when the memory of their kiss would hang over them like a dark cloud?

What would happen now? Would Draco tell Astoria what had happened? If so, what would happen then? She barely tolerated his presence as it was – how bad would it become if she knew he had kissed her husband?

How furious would she be if she knew that he wanted to kiss Draco _again_? His emotions and thoughts were all jumbled up, but one thing was clear: he had enjoyed kissing Draco. He wouldn't be opposed to doing it again.

But it couldn't happen, right? Draco was _married_. Harry was carrying his child – a child he would have to give up once he gave birth to it. A child that would be brought up by Draco and Astoria. Not Draco and Harry.

There wasn't any place for Harry in Draco's life aside from his best friend. It could never be more. Draco was married and soon he would be caring for a child together with his wife. Harry would be demoted to best friend and uncle of the baby. Nothing more. It could never be anything more.

The sharp pain that shot through his chest at that realisation made him clench his shirt; his fist absurdly warm against his rapidly beating heart. He clenched his eyes shut and cursed himself. Cursed himself for being so damn stupid. Cursed himself for becoming way too attached to Draco in a span of just a couple of months. He had been so damn stupid – how could he have ever thought he could remain detached? No wonder his friends had tried to dissuade him from becoming Draco's surrogate. He had fucked everything up and he had no clue what he should do to rectify this mess.

"Harry …" Draco murmured and from the corner of his eye he saw a pale hand reaching out to him, intend on touching him.

He couldn't deal with it now. His life had just become a giant mess and he didn't know how to deal with it.

Shaking his head, he stumbled out of Draco's reach, keeping his eyes averted from him. "I'm – I'm sorry. I – I need to be alone. I'm sorry."

Ignoring Draco's demand to stay, he fled out of the room; his skin way too hot, pressure stinging behind his eyes and his heart racing as if he had just run a marathon. His legs felt odd, as if they were made out of jelly and it honestly surprised him that he hadn't collapsed yet. He couldn't be near Draco now. He needed time to think. Time to figure out just what the hell he was supposed to do now.

Before he could turn into the hallway that would lead to his wing, he bumped against someone and he would have toppled over if hands hadn't gripped his arms to steady him. With a shock he realised he hadn't put his belt back on; his belly was displayed for everyone to see.

Fortunately for him, the one he had bumped against was Hermione, who regarded him with concern lurking in her warm, brown eyes.

"Come, let's go to your room," she murmured, evidently having read the distress on his face and he half stumbled, half walked to his wing.

Both relieved and hurt that Draco hadn't chased after him. And that particular combination scared the hell out of him.

* * *

"I have no idea what to do now, Hermione," Harry ended his recollection of what had transpired between him and the blond wizard.

Hermione was seated on his desk chair while he had been forced to recline on his bed. Her elbow was resting on the desk and her head was supported by her hand as she silently listened to what had made Harry upset enough not to realise he had been about to bump against someone.

"You've got yourself a big mess, Harry," she sighed and straightened her back. Her skirt rustled faintly when she brought one leg over the other.

"Don't I know it," he grumbled and rubbed over his eyes. "It wasn't like it was my intention to kiss him."

"No, but you did," she retorted calmly. "I'm not going to say 'I told you so', but you're playing with fire. I hope you know that."

He grimaced and looked down at his rounded stomach, rubbing the bulge anxiously. He had no idea what to do now. The cowardly part of him wanted to hide out in his room for the rest of the pregnancy or escape to his own home and close down the Floo connection to Malfoy Manor. How the hell was he supposed to act around Draco now? This whole situation was beyond awkward.

Hermione clucked her tongue. "What did Malfoy say?"

He hesitated, but answered with burning cheeks, "That he wanted to kiss me, so he did."

"Okay, that was not the answer I was expecting," she replied and blinked surprised. "I'd say it was maybe a heat of the moment thing with him talking to the baby, but …"

"But what?" Harry asked sharply and stared at his friend with narrowed eyes. His hand stilled and he received a weak kick as retribution.

"But maybe it's more than some heat of the moment thing," she admitted and bit her lip.

His incredulous laugh left him in a sharp bark. "Yeah, right," he snorted and shook his head. "Like what? Like he has feelings for me?"

"Why not?" Her brown eyes were uncomfortably intense as she regarded him calmly. "Why would it be ridiculous to assume that he has feelings for you? You had sex, you're expecting his child, you're here every day … Not to mention you two have always been ridiculously obsessed with each other."

"I was _not_ obsessed with him!" he said defensively and brought his legs up. "And expecting his child doesn't have anything to do with him developing feelings. Not to mention he's married!"

"We both know it was a marriage out of convenience, Harry, and not out of love," Hermione retorted with an exasperated sigh. She waved her hand around. "It's not that odd to imagine that he ended up developing feelings for you. The only thing that ties him to his wife is the marriage contract. They've never acted like they were in love."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to have an affair with him," Harry hissed and his fingers clenched around his knees. "He's still married and he will be raising his son with her. There's no place for me in his life aside from a good friend."

She leant forwards, pursing her lips contemplatively. "You know, we've been arguing about Malfoy's feelings for you, but you haven't said what you feel for him. Why did _you_ kiss him back?"

The dark haired man spluttered and stammered and he felt his cheeks flaming up. It wouldn't shock him if he resembled a tomato right now.

"I – I … You know … Spur of the moment thing," he ended up stammering and he absolutely _despised_ the knowing look in Hermione's eyes.

She stood up, smoothed the lower part of her dress, and raised an eyebrow. "Spur of the moment thing, huh?" she repeated sceptically. "I suggest you'll try to be honest with yourself from now on, Harry. Before you land yourself into a bigger mess. I'll tell the rest you felt too drained from working and decided to rest in your room."

Before Harry could argue, Hermione practically flaunted out of the room, closing the door behind her with a resounding 'click'.

With a groan of exhaustion, Harry fell back against his pillow and stared moodily at his ceiling.

Being honest with himself now, huh?

That had to be one of Hermione's crappiest advice so far.

* * *

Harry liked to think that he was a true Gryffindor in all aspects of his life, but the truth was that at times he preferred to ignore a problem and avoid it at all costs instead of facing it heads on. It wasn't a trait he was proud of, but it was how he was.

That was why a week after having kissed Draco at Teddy's birthday party he still hadn't talked to Draco or even looked at the man. He had taken to eating breakfast earlier than Draco and dinners were spent talking to Narcissa about all the items the baby would need. It wasn't as if he was particularly invested in buying baby stuff, but it allowed him to not look at the blond man across from him and every excuse to not discuss that kiss was a good one in his opinion. He had even told one of the house elves to turn away Draco should he come to his room during the evening with the excuse that he was too tired to speak with him.

Shame burned inside of him at the manner he was handling this situation, but he couldn't help it. That kiss had thrown him completely off balance and it made him question just what kind of feelings he had for the blond.

Possible feelings that couldn't be allowed to flourish, because Draco was still married to Astoria and wouldn't divorce her. Feelings that would throw their friendship in jeopardy and mess up their lives more than the kiss already had done.

Not for the first time since the kiss Harry wished he had never thought of becoming Draco's surrogate. This whole pregnancy was messing with their heads and it left a bigger impact than Harry could have foreseen.

Like the fact, for example, that Harry found himself slowly becoming attached to the baby growing inside of him. Although it still felt odd to feel someone moving inside of him, kicking him, he discovered that he looked forward to feeling the baby fuss around and he caught himself talking and cooing to the baby during the evenings in his bed. That was something else that scared him; he couldn't become attached to the baby. That was a dangerous thing to do and it wouldn't end well at all. Because even though the baby was biologically his as well, in the end it would be Astoria who would raise him. Harry was merely the vessel for it and would have no legal ties to the baby at all.

Growing attached to the baby would only end up in heartbreak. And though he knew this all too well, he couldn't stop himself from enjoying the tumbling and fussing that happened regularly in his belly.

Merlin, he was really screwed, wasn't he?

* * *

May had announced itself by the time Draco managed to speak to Harry privately. It had been two weeks since they had kissed and ever since then Harry had done a remarkable good job of avoiding him, despite living in the same manor. If Harry avoiding him didn't piss him off so much, he would actually be quite impressed by it, because it took some skill to avoid a person entirely when you lived with them in the same building.

After two weeks, though, Draco had figured out Harry's new routine and, determined to talk about the kiss and what it exactly entailed, he woke up extra early on Saturday to make certain he would catch the dark haired wizard on time before he left to visit his friends.

The startled, dark green eyes that stared at him as he walked into the dining room that morning made him smile grimly and he saw Harry swallow nervously as he lowered his spoon.

"Draco! I … hadn't expected to see you so early," he mumbled flustered and glanced down at the bowl containing his half eaten cereals. He glanced furtively around the room, as if he was expecting someone else to pop up.

_Most likely mother, so that he can rope her into a conversation to avoid talking with me,_ Draco thought sardonically.

"Is your mother still asleep?"

Casually Draco sat down and nodded in thanks to the house elf, who popped up next to him with a steaming plate of scrambled eggs and two thin slices of perfectly cooked bacon. "She decided to have breakfast in the Star room to enjoy the view of her garden," he replied nonchalantly. She might have come to that decision after Draco had discreetly asked her to leave him alone with Harry this morning, but that was something that the green eyed wizard didn't need to know.

"That's … surprising," Harry muttered and cleared his throat. "So any plans for today? I'm leaving in a bit to visit Hermione and Ron. Did you hear something about the Wooden Doll case? Apparently Ron was on the team for that one and it turns out that …"

"Yes, I do have plans for today," Draco cut his rambling off abruptly. "My plans of today consist of looking over some documents for work, discussing the nursery with my mother and oh yes, talking to you about our kiss."

"Oh, just look at the time! I'm afraid our talk will have to wait, because it's getting really late, you know," Harry babbled and shoved his chair back; his eyes averted from Draco's face like they had been since he sat down.

Fortunately for Draco, Harry couldn't be that quick anymore with his protruding stomach and so by the time he had regained his balance, the blond was already standing next to him, gripping his arm.

"Harry, we need to talk," he said forcefully and without even giving the pregnant man a chance to protest, he closed off the door with a Silence Bubble and a Lock charm. That door would only open again after they had finished their conversation. It was long due by now.

Harry looked ready to protest, but his shoulders sagged and he let out a sigh, leaning back against the table. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he looked away and muttered petulantly, "There's nothing to talk about."

A blond eyebrow rose up in incredulity. "Nothing to talk about? Harry, we _kissed_ each other," Draco stressed and shook his head. "That's nothing to talk about? I dare say it is."

"Look, what do you want me to say? We kissed and we shouldn't have done that. End of story. There's nothing to discuss," Harry bit out and scowled at him heavily.

"Ignoring it won't make it as if it never happened," Draco pointed out exasperatedly. "We need to talk about why we kissed each other."

"But why? You'll only end up making it more complicated," Harry snapped and raked a hand through his hair, clearly becoming agitated. "Look, it was just a spur of the moment thing, okay? Let's just keep it at that and move on with our lives."

"Why are you refusing to discuss this seriously?" Draco asked frustrated and took a step closer.

"Because there's nothing to discuss, Draco!" Harry cried out and looked at him with troubled eyes. "You're married, for Merlin's sake. Whatever we discuss, it doesn't change the fact that you're married to Astoria. We already screwed up once – let's not make it worse."

"Why did you kiss me?" the blond pressed, not willing to give up on this conversation after finally having caught the dark haired man.

"Merlin, you're starting to sound like a broken record," Harry bit out. "What does it matter that I kissed you? Need I remind you that _you_ were the one who started kissing me?"

"No, you don't need to remind me." Draco scowled. "I just want to know why you kissed me back when you know I'm married."

"Like I said, spur of the moment thing," Harry replied through gritted teeth and glared at him.

Before he could think twice about what he was about to do, Draco bent down, cupped Harry's cheeks and kissed him fiercely. Only a couple of seconds were filled with struggle before the other man kissed him back with equal intensity, as if this was some sort of competition and he didn't want to lose. Hands landed on his arms and squeezed down and Draco felt Harry's rounded stomach press against his own flat one when the man closed the gap between them.

Draco pulled back with a soft gasp and stared at Harry, who looked back at him with a resigned look etched on his face.

"Still a spur of the moment thing?" Draco remarked sceptically as he tried to regulate his breathing again. His heart seemed to skip a beat when glowing emerald green stared back at him.

Harry heaved a sigh and burrowed his face in Draco's shoulder. "I hate you," came the muffled, petulant reply.

Wearily Draco shook his head and they remained standing in that position for a while. Draco thought he should push Harry away – this position wasn't helping their whole kiss dilemma at all – but he couldn't bring himself to do it and instead his hand drifted down to rest on Harry's back.

Well, they had seriously screwed up things now, hadn't they? The blond didn't even know why he had had the marvellous idea of kissing Harry again. They hadn't even discussed the first kiss – bar Draco admitting that he had wanted to kiss the Saviour – and they had already kissed for the second time.

Blankly he stared at the opposite wall and wondered where they should go from here. Maybe it had indeed been a spur of the moment thing for Harry the previous time, but now he didn't have that same excuse. He had kissed him back just as fiercely as Draco had done and there was no denying that.

Now the question remained: what were they going to do about this? Where would they go from here? Ignoring the two kisses was simply not an option. Especially not with this odd tension hanging between them.

A tension that had started developing ever since Draco had felt the baby kicking for the first time. Was this merely an issue of hormones and the sudden intimacy that had grown between them thanks to the baby?

Or was it something more, something deeper, like hidden feelings that were finally bursting through the surface?

Draco didn't know, couldn't find the answer and that aggravated him immensely.

"What are we going to do now?" Harry asked resigned and pulled back, forcing the blond to loosen his embrace.

"Well, it's not like we can ignore the fact that we kissed. Twice now," Draco added and withdrew a bit, leaning with his arse against the table. His mother would probably have a fit if she saw him in that position, but he couldn't care about that now.

Harry's scowl made it quite clear that he thought that ignoring their kisses would work out just fine. Unfortunately for him, Draco wasn't about to ignore their kiss.

"Fine, not ignore then," Harry acquiesced grudgingly. "But what do you propose we do then? You're still married, Draco."

_As if he could forget that_. For the first time since he had married Astoria, though, he found himself doubting his decision to marry her. That particular thought process was something he would have to come back to later, though, because he had now more pressing matters to attend to.

"Why don't we start first with you saying why you kissed me back? Twice," Draco added pointedly.

Immediately Harry's cheeks heated up as if they had burst into flames and it wouldn't surprise the blond if he would feel the heat exuding from Harry's face should he stick his hand out.

The dark haired wizard glanced away and crossed his arms on top of his stomach. "Because I wanted to, all right?" he mumbled almost inaudibly.

Even though it was undignified, Draco's mouth dropped open as Harry's reply fully registered in his mind. Well, he certainly hadn't expected to hear _that_ particular reply.

But Harry's answer didn't help their issue at all. So they both had wanted to kiss each other – what would they do with that knowledge?

"We have screwed up, huh?" Harry sighed despondently.

Draco couldn't disagree with that notion. "What do you want to do now?"

Green eyes stared at him shocked. "What? What do you mean?" Harry questioned perplexed and took a step back.

"We've just admitted that we both wanted to kiss each other," the blond explained and rolls his shoulders, feeling tension sneak up on him. A flush crept up from his neck to his cheeks, colouring them a faint red. "I'll be honest: I wouldn't mind continuing whatever this is."

"But you're _married_ , Draco," Harry stressed and he made a sweeping motion with his right hand.

"Is that your only objection?" Draco inquired curiously, thinking it was interesting how the other man had offered no explicit objection against taking it further between them.

"My only … Draco, that is not something we can ignore," Harry snapped and his eyes glowed with anger. "I don't even know what I really feel for you. Maybe it's just the hormones messing with me."

"Do you think I know exactly what I feel for you?" the blond retorted frustrated and shook his head. "I'm as confused as you are. That's why I want to continue this – whatever this is. To figure out what I really feel for you."

Harry bit his lower lip. "But what about Astoria?" he asked uncertainly and shifted his foot. "It wouldn't be fair to her if we go further with this."

Astoria … Draco didn't know how she would react. She had expressed her wish that Draco wouldn't attempt a relationship with Harry, but lately she had grown quite distant and cold – even worse than before. There was no real love lost between them; their marriage was an arranged one.

"Astoria … I'm not sure how she would react, but it's not as if we're in love with each other," Draco murmured and shrugged. "As long as we don't know for certain what we feel for each other, I don't see the point in discussing this with her."

"So you want to find out what we feel for each other," Harry said carefully and appeared to be wavering.

"Yes and once we know for certain what we feel for each other, we can decide then what we'll do," Draco stated and started to feel more confident now he knew what they would do. They could do this; they could figure out their feelings this way.

"Do what? Like you getting a divorce?" Harry snorted and eyed him sceptically.

"If it turns out we really have deep feelings for each other? Yes," Draco replied calmly.

The sceptic look was quickly replaced with one of surprise and Harry opened his mouth, but before he could say something, the door suddenly opened and Astoria strode into the room, annoyance written over her face, as she pocketed her wand.

"Why was the door locked with a spell?" she demanded to know and narrowed her eyes when she took in how close both men stood.

"I needed to discuss something with Harry and I didn't want him to leave before our discussion was over," Draco answered blankly and returned to his seat.

"I need to leave," Harry mumbled and left without deigning Astoria worthy of a look.

"What did you need to discuss?" she pressed and sank down on a chair; her blonde hair glistering in the sunlight, that peeked through the large window.

"I just wanted his opinion on a pressing issue; nothing special," he murmured and sipped from his tea.

"What? Who you need to bet on in the upcoming Quidditch game?" she sneered derisively and spread some butter on her toast.

He smiled affably, recognising the hidden stab at Harry's intelligence. His wife seemed to have the assumption that Harry was incapable of having a discussion that didn't revolve around Quidditch. "Something like that, yeah," he responded, deciding to ignore her rude remark for now.

Astoria seemed satisfied with his answer and they had breakfast in silence.

When Draco made his way to his office, he couldn't suppress a smile of excitement. He couldn't wait to find out what really was going on between him and Harry. He wouldn't allow Harry to ignore this strange thing between them.

* * *

He wondered where his morals had gone as he tilted his head back to give the blond currently teasingly biting his earlobe more space.

They were hidden in an alcove on the third floor where Draco had dragged him off to when he had caught Harry wandering through the corridor.

It had been two weeks since their tense discussion about their kisses and since then they had been sneaking around, finding private spots to snog as if they were still a pair of teenagers who were going behind their parents' backs.

A choked moan tore through his throat and his hands clenched down on firm biceps when lips suckled at one particular spot right underneath his ear. Damn it, he hadn't known he was this sensitive.

A breathy chuckle against his damp skin made him shiver and soon his lips were captured in a deep kiss, which pushed his back even closer to the wall. Hands clutched almost desperately at each other's bodies as their kiss deepened even more, their tongues coming into play; they tentatively brushed across each other, curling around the other one's tongue.

Merlin, how could something so wrong feel so right? He knew he should feel guilty, should be ashamed, but he felt delirious, his mind cloudy with want. Even though he had sworn to never start something with Draco, he couldn't help but press closer, wanting to feel more of the blond.

"Do you regularly ambush people in corridors?" he asked and sharply breathed in when devious fingers slipped underneath his shirt, trailing light circles on his back.

A smirk flitted over the aristocratic face before the man nuzzled his cheek. "Only if they are really special," he whispered and Harry's cheeks heated up.

It was far too easy for Draco to make him blush; it shouldn't be so easy, the dark haired man figured.

Harry's own hands wandered underneath Draco's light blue shirt, tugging up the thin cloth; muscles tensed and shifted under his fingers. A quick grin flitted across Harry's face as he heard Draco exhale in surprise.

He wouldn't let himself be the only one to be affected here.

Right when his fingers dipped between warm skin and the waistband of charcoal grey trousers, a popping sound caused the blond to rip himself out of Harry's arms – making the pregnant man momentarily mourn the lack of touch – and they stared startled at the house elf standing two feet away from the alcove.

Two large, dark yellow eyes gazed at them remorsefully and the raffled, floppy ears quivered as the elf bowed deeply until his pointy nose nearly brushed against the dark green carpet.

"Pinkie sorry, Master Draco, Master Harry Potter!" the house elf squeaked in panic. "Pinkie not want disturbing Masters! Pinkie be punishing himself, he wills!"

"That's not necessary," Draco retorted sharply, tugging down his shirt.

Pinkie instantly froze; one of his small feet remain extended in the air as he had been on his way to bash his head against the wall.

"Do you need something?" Draco asked brusquely and ran a hand through his hair, causing it to look slightly dishevelled.

Harry wanted to scold Draco for being rude to the poor house elf, but once he caught sight of the blond discreetly adjusting himself, he couldn't help but chuckle amused. Not even the scowl the other man threw at him could stop him. Instead he winked and had the pleasure of seeing Draco blush lightly.

"Owl come and giving letter for Master Harry Potter, sir," Pinkie explained and help up the letter.

The sight of Saint Mungos' emblem made Harry blink in confusion and he stepped forwards to accept the letter.

"Thank you," he murmured and Pinkie bowed again before he disappeared with a soft 'pop'.

"Since when does the hospital send you letters?" Draco furrowed his eyebrows in bemusement.

"It's from Lyrian," Harry mumbled and opened the letter.

' _Dear Harry_

_It slipped my mind today unfortunately and as I will not be present next week, a letter will have to do. My apologies._

_As you are nearly eight months pregnant, it is time for another check-up. We also need to discuss the potions you will need to ingest when you enter your last month._

_Will the first of June be acceptable for you?_

_Sincerely_

_Lyrian'_

"That date isn't a problem for me," Draco remarked and his arms slipped casually around Harry's waist, caressing his belly.

"I'll let her know," Harry replied, a bit distracted. Aside from the regular check-up and the discussion about the potions, he would probably be told as well that he couldn't work anymore for the remainder of his pregnancy. Normally that would annoy him to no end, but now he would be a bit relieved. The pregnancy was starting to wear him out bit by bit and it was becoming more of a hassle to keep his magic under control. Just three days ago he had nearly set his desk on fire when he had merely wanted to cool down his tea.

He was pulled from his musings by lips pressing a soft kiss in his neck.

"What do you say of continuing from where we were interrupted?" Draco breathed and a hand cupped his arse, squeezing it firmly.

Before Harry could reply, chiming resounded through the corridor: dinner was ready.

"Damn it!" Draco swore frustrated and even Harry grimaced in annoyance.

"Let's go downstairs," he sighed and extracted himself out of Draco's embrace.

"Fine, but we're going to continue this after dinner," Draco promised and the glint in his eyes made the dark haired man swallow.

When had it become so hard to reject the blond?

More importantly: when had his morals degraded so much that he no longer objected to having an affair with a married man?

As he followed Draco downstairs, he tried to ignore how guilt seemed to have left him almost completely.

* * *

The first of June was quite a warm day; the sun beat down almost mercilessly on anyone who even dared to set foot outside, making Harry grateful for the existence of Cooling charms.

As it was, even with the renewal of the Cooling charms, his shirt stuck uncomfortably against his skin and he was itching to get rid of the damp cloth.

"All right; it looks like your baby is healthy," Lyrian commented as she peered at the screen. "You don't have any deficiencies either, so that's excellent as well."

"That's good to hear," Harry smiled and as if in agreement, the baby kicked in response; the outline of his tiny foot was visible for a few seconds, as Harry's skin dented out a bit right above his bellybutton.

"So everything is all right with the both of them?" Draco looked relieved at Lyrian's reassurance.

The days leading up to the check-up had seen Draco quite anxious, despite Harry's reassurance that he felt well. He doubted whether the blond man had slept much last night, judging by the light bags underneath his eyes.

Lightly Harry touched Draco's inner wrist and the man gave him a faint smile.

"Here, you can clean your stomach with this," Lyrian murmured and handed over a couple of paper towels before she set about creating copies of the ultrasound. "Will I meet your wife before your baby is born, Mister Malfoy?" she questioned casually.

Harry froze for a few seconds before he finished wiping off the blue gel; all the while with a faint tremor in his hand.

Draco answered blandly, "I doubt it; she's rather busy and this is still a rather sensitive issue for her."

"Yes, I understand," she mumbled and for a short moment a peculiar look crossed her face. It was gone quickly, though, and she beckoned both men to follow her back to her desk.

Harry sank down on his chair carefully and did his best to ignore the heavy feeling in his stomach that had sprung up after Lyrian's question.

Lyrian clapped her hands together briefly and stated briskly, "Let us discuss the potions now."

"How do the potions exactly work?" Harry inquired, putting the surge of guilt aside for now. He hadn't yet read about the needed potions and so was completely clueless.

"You'll need to ingest two potions in about four weeks' time," she started and began writing something down. "The first one will connect directly with your magic and will ensure that your body is capable of creating a new opening: your temporary birth canal. The second potion will become active once your contractions start. It will complete your birth canal and you'll be able to give birth in a 'natural' way. Not to worry: the canal will disappear once you've given birth and the womb has dissolved."

His cheeks felt on fire and he refused to even glance at the man next to him. He hadn't known how much his body would actually change. He definitely hadn't expected this particular explanation.

"You, Mister Malfoy, have to be with Harry during the birth as well," she continued, leaving her quill in the inkwell.

"I was already planning on doing that," Draco assured and gave Harry's knee a discreet squeeze out of Lyrian's sight.

"No, Mister Malfoy, it is very important that you _are_ present then," Lyrian stressed and frowned, tapping her nails on the parchment. "Your magic needs to support Harry's magic during the labour; it will ease the process."

"What happens if Draco is not present?" Harry asked apprehensively and his fingers twitched in a fold of his shirt.

"While giving birth would not be impossible, his absence would make the process a lot more difficult and more painful as well," she answered gravely.

The dark haired man grimaced; that didn't sound pleasant at all.

"I'll be there," Draco insisted and he narrowed his eyes slightly.

"See that you are," Lyrian replied calmly and handed Harry the parchment she had been writing on. "These are the potions you'll need to brew. It's best to brew them this week, because they need some time to become stable."

"Not a problem," Draco muttered and accepted the parchment when Harry gave it to him.

Lyrian smiled. "All right, then I'll see you again in just over a month when I'll give you your last check-up, Harry."

"Thanks, Lyrian," Harry smiled and stood up.

"Oh, and Harry? I have cleared your schedule for the upcoming three months." She looked at him meaningfully and he grinned bashfully.

"Thank you."

"What does she mean with that?" Draco asked perplexed when they left the office and closed the door behind them after Harry had put his belt back on.

"It means that you'll have to put up with me the entire time for the next two months," Harry murmured and waved at a Mediwizard they passed by on their way back to the Floo. "If I want to avoid having my magic act up, I can't work anymore."

"And you're really going to follow her advice?" Draco looked quite sceptically as Harry threw the dark green powder in the fireplace.

"Of course I am. I'm not going to risk the baby," Harry murmured and then let himself be whisked away by the fire back to Malfoy Manor.

Astoria was in the foyer when he stumbled out of the fireplace. She regarded him with cool eyes; not even glancing once at his midsection when he fumbled with the belt to get it off.

"How did the check-up go?" she asked idly and stroked down a miniscule fold in her pale blue dress.

"It went fine. The baby is growing as he should," Harry replied and eyed her cautiously. This was the first time Astoria had shown any interest in the baby, but he didn't think she suddenly had had a change of heart.

"That's all we want," she smiled icily and before Harry could form some sort of retort to the odd comment, she turned around and disappeared into the corridor. Her footsteps fading out quickly in the distance as the fire behind him spit out Draco.

"Harry, is something the matter?" Draco asked surprised and approached him after carefully brushing off any particles of soot that had attached itself to his trousers.

"Not really," Harry muttered, while he still stared contemplatively at the door. "Astoria wanted to know how the check-up went," he answered and bit the inside of his cheek.

"Really?" Draco said surprised and clucked his tongue. "Well, there's a first time for everything, I suppose."

The heavy feeling of guilt that had settled back into his stomach after seeing Astoria made the dark haired man sigh and turn out to face the blond. "Do you really think we should keep this thing between us going? It's …"

He was cut off abruptly by a chaste, but surprisingly tender kiss, that caused him to gape bewildered at the other man.

Something stirred inside those silver grey eyes and a strange, melancholic smile played around pale rose lips. "I respect Astoria, but I don't love her. Maybe I would have felt something akin to love for her after a while of being married to her, but I very much doubt that." Draco raised his hand and caressed Harry's cheek and the dark haired man barely dared to breathe out. "Such a scenario would probably only have been possible if you and I never had any sort of interaction."

"What exactly are you saying?" Harry's throat felt parched, as if he had been wandering in a desert for hours without any water. The words somehow hurt to get them out in the air.

"I think you know what I'm saying," Draco murmured and with one last lingering kiss, he left the room.

Leaving Harry standing there while a poisonous mixture of guilt, shame and elation swirled around inside of him.

* * *

The now twenty-third year old Draco accepted the hug his mother bestowed upon him.

"Did you enjoy your day, my Dragon?" she asked with a faint smile as she pulled back. Her long hair, curled for the occasion, fell across her shoulders like water.

"I did, mother, thank you," he smiled genuinely.

His birthday party hadn't been as extravagant as some he had had in the past, but he had been more than happy with it. Even Astoria's demeanour had thawed enough for her to wish him a happy birthday.

More than seeing his own wife acting friendlier towards him, more than seeing his friends again on the party, even more than hearing his father tell him quietly he was proud of what his son had become, he wanted to be with one person only now. One man in particular who had excused himself earlier in the evening to retire to his room, because he became a bit too tired.

There was only one person he wanted to see and spend time with.

His mother seemed to pick up on that desire, because she gave him a peculiar smile and removed her hands from his shoulders.

"Should you want to retire, nobody will hold it against you," she murmured and her eyes glittered in that peculiar way they always did when she knew something other people didn't.

He gazed at her uncertainly, wondering how much she knew exactly, but she patiently looked back until he bowed his head and turned around; hoping that it didn't look like he was running away from his own party.

It was difficult, though, to pace himself with every step that took him closer to the man waiting for him in his room. All day he had been waiting for this moment and he had become too impatient to walk at a moderate pace. The couple of house elves he passed on his way to Harry's room didn't look up from their work of dusting the portraits – they knew better than to question why one of their masters had forgone attending his own birthday party.

The door to Harry's room was left ajar and Draco opened it soundlessly, captivated by the sight that met him.

The dark haired man was seated cross legged on his bed; his belly cradled by his thighs. He was dressed in nothing more than his underwear and a large dark blue shirt and his hands were splayed on top of his protruding stomach; one hand was rubbing circles over his belly.

"Kicking my kidneys won't solve the problem that you hardly have any space left in there," Harry murmured amused as he looked down at his stomach, where the outline of something small pressed back momentarily against his hand.

The tender look in green eyes made Draco's own face soften and his heart seemed to skip a beat. This was the sort of scene he had envisioned whenever he thought of having his own children. A scene that could put him at ease instantly, caused him to feel calm and filled with adoration for his partner. It was so easy for him to imagine him and Harry sitting together on the bed they shared, feeling their baby move underneath their joined hands … So easy to realise that Harry was everything he had ever wanted and more …

Not for the first time since he had kissed Harry did he mourn how their situation had turned out so far. If only he had waited to marry, maybe he and Harry could have tried out a relationship sooner. But …

"Draco! How long have you been standing there?" Harry's surprised exclamation tore him out of his musings and he blinked, coming back to the present. Harry's cheeks were stained red and he seemed a bit embarrassed.

Draco smiled and closed the door behind him, before sauntering over to the bed. "A while," he admitted and sank down on the bed. "You'd make a great father," he remarked softly.

The flush spread out to Harry's neck and he ducked his head. "Sorry, I was just trying to calm him down a bit," he murmured and his hand stilled.

"Why apologise? It's your child as well."

Immediately Harry's head shot up and he frowned heavily. "No, this is your and Astoria's child," he corrected warily. "I'm just your surrogate, remember?"

Was Draco just imagining the faint trace of bitterness in Harry's voice? "If you had the choice – so disregard the current situation – would you want to keep the child?" Draco asked; the sound of his heart beating ringing loudly in his ears. His hands felt clammy on top of the sheets.

Harry stilled and his eyes darkened, shuttered. "What kind of inane question is that? I'm not going to take away your child, Draco, so asking me that is …"

"I want to divorce Astoria," Draco blurted out; not able to contain himself any longer.

The other man stared at him with open mouth. "What? Are you – are you serious?" he asked faintly and he seemed frozen in shock.

"Yes, I am," Draco replied calmly, but his hands shook as nerves raced inside of him. "Being together with you has made me realise how stupid I have been in accepting the engagement with Astoria. I shouldn't have married her at all. What I feel for you is something completely different; something I hadn't dared to think I would ever feel. I'm a selfish man, Harry; I don't want to give you up or our baby. I don't want to keep you as a secret."

Harry offered him a trembling smile. "We really screwed up, huh?"

The blond reached out and grabbed Harry's hands, enclosing them in his own. "Yes, we did, but I don't want to relinquish what we have. You?"

Harry sighed and looked away for a moment, before he returned his gaze to Draco. "I must be mad, but no. No, I don't want to give you up … or, or the baby." He visibly swallowed. "But a divorce is not … She's not going to take this well, Draco."

"I'll handle her," Draco promised and softly pushed Harry down on his bed. A quick flick of his wand and his own clothes dissolved and reappeared on a chair next to the window. Another harsh swish of his wand and the curtains closed, leaving them in the dark.

"Draco?" Harry's breath washed over his collarbone and he felt his fists resting against his chest.

Never before since they had started this secret relationship had he stayed the night with Harry.

"I just want to stay with you for a bit longer before I go back," Draco whispered and buried his face in soft, black hair.

_Yes, just a bit longer and then I go back_ , he thought drowsily.

Despite the heavy decision they had both just made, it didn't take long for both men to fall into a deep slumber; their arms wrapped around each other as if they didn't want to let go.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: We're reaching the end of this fic, guys. After this chapter, we only have the epilogue left and then it's finished. I really appreciate your comments and favourites; it lifts my mood every time :)
> 
> Thanks for the comments and the kudos!
> 
> PAY ATTENTION TO THE WARNINGS!
> 
> Warnings: angst; drama; time skips; birth; violence; form of child abuse (it's very brief and more of a leading up to it, but I'm still putting it here just in case)
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like this chapter!
> 
> Also prepare for an evil cliffie ~ I'm not going to spoil anything, so you'll have to wait until next week to find out what happens next ;)  
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> See you all in the epilogue!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa

_Chapter 7_

_6_ _th_ _of June_

The dark haired man was abruptly ripped from his peaceful slumber by the sharp chime sound announcing someone was Floo calling him and by the raised voices in the hallway right outside his room.

Even through the thick door he heard Draco say exasperatedly, "Nothing happened, Astoria!"

 _Well shit_. Harry winced as he slowly sat up, rubbing soothingly over his rounded belly. He certainly hadn't expected to wake up to an argument between Draco and Astoria. His heart skipped a beat as his memories of the night before rushed back and he froze, staring blankly at the rumpled sheets. Draco would be _divorcing_ Astoria. He and Harry would _keep the baby_.

The chime sound of the Floo rang louder, more urgent and Harry was snapped out of his shocked contemplation by it. Stumbling out of bed, his balance lost for a couple of seconds, he hastily made his way to the fireplace to allow the call as he knelt down; wincing as his back protested at the movement.

Hermione's puzzled face greeted him, dancing in the fire. "Harry, are you all right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I am. Sorry, my back just hurts a bit," Harry sighed and leant back a bit, resting most of his weight on his hands. "Why are you calling me so early?"

"Early?" She raised an eyebrow. "It's nine o'clock."

Ah. That explained why Astoria had encountered Draco before he could sneak back.

Before either one of them could continue, Astoria raised her voice in the hallway.

"Then explain to me why you came out of _his_ room just now!"

Harry flushed underneath Hermione's knowing eyes. "What?" he asked defensively.

"Malfoy was in your room the whole night?" she questioned in a low voice and she seemed torn between smirking and looking horrified.

"We just slept! _Nothing_ happened!" he stressed and ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Really," he repeated when he caught her disbelieving look. "I swear we only slept; nothing more happened."

"But did something happen before?" she murmured silkily.

His cheeks heated up and he cleared his throat. "None of your business."

"Look, Harry, I know I said that you should stop lying to yourself, but please tell me: what are you doing with Malfoy? It doesn't appear like you're just friends anymore," she murmured and gazed at him worriedly.

He sighed and started caressing his stomach absentmindedly when the baby gave a firm kick. "He and I … We sort of started a relationship to figure out what exactly we feel for each other," he admitted begrudgingly.

"And did you figure out already what you feel for each other?" she asked apprehensively.

"He – he wants to divorce Astoria, Hermione," he replied and couldn't temper the awe in his voice. Even though he had agreed to try a relationship with Draco, he had never expected the blond to actually want to go through with a divorce. Deep inside he had resigned himself to only being with Draco until the baby was born. Surely afterwards they wouldn't want to be with each other anymore; it could only be hormones after all. But he was starting to fear that his hormones weren't the ones to blame for this mess; it was him who hadn't realised his buried feelings sooner.

And though he felt ecstatic at the thought that Draco was choosing him after all, he was afraid that in the end nothing would come from it; he very much doubted that Astoria would be willing to step aside silently and agree to a divorce. What would happen to the baby then? Would Astoria still be recognised as his mother or not?

Something dark and ugly squeezed around his heart and he wrapped an arm around his belly.

The sudden tension and position of his arm wasn't lost on his best friend. "If Malfoy plans to divorce Greengrass, what will happen to the baby?" Hermione asked carefully.

"We're going to raise the baby," he answered and wetted his lips.

"Harry …" she sighed and shook her head.

Harry glanced away, his whole face burning with shame. She didn't need to say it out loud for him to understand the unspoken scolding; she had warned him that he would become attached to the baby, but he hadn't listened to her, laughing away her concerns. Because naturally, there had been no way he would grow attached to the baby, knowing that he would have to give it up after the birth. And he had believed that – for the first few months. He supposed it had been easy to not get attached to the baby in the first couple of months, because it had still been too small yet to form a real impact on his life; sure, he had experienced morning sickness, but take away that and he wouldn't have known he was pregnant if he hadn't proposed it himself. But with the months that passed by, his stomach grew and he started feeling more and more connected to the small being growing inside of him.

Growing more attached to it until he came to the horrifying realisation that he _didn't want to give up his baby_. He didn't want to separate himself from the baby inside of him, didn't want someone else to take care of him. Yet, he would have given up the baby to let him be raised by Draco and Astoria – if the blond hadn't made such a tantalizing offer to him.

Now here he sat: the cause of an impending divorce if Draco got his way and more animosity from the Greengrass family – and possibly the Malfoy family as well. All the while carrying a baby he had originally intended to hand over to other people.

Swallowing became rather difficult as he tried to imagine how Narcissa would react to the fact that her son wanted to divorce the woman she had approved of; the woman who was one of the many ways in which the Malfoy family was trying to work its way up in society again. Harry didn't care about how Lucius would react, but he wondered whether he would still be welcomed by Narcissa if he was the cause of her son's ruined marriage.

"I didn't … It wasn't my intention," he stammered and his fingers burrowed themselves in his shirt as shame flooded through him.

"Are you … Are you sure it's not just a passing whim?" Hermione asked and bit her lip. "It's just … Until a couple of months ago you didn't seem interested in Malfoy."

"It's not a passing whim, Hermione," Harry replied quietly and shook his head slowly. "I'm not sure what happened, but … These past weeks have been the best and worst of my life so far. Well, not the worst," he amended, thinking back to his school years when he had to battle with Voldemort. "Whatever it is that we have, I don't want to lose it."

"Oh, Harry," she sighed and her face softened. "You're not going to have it easy."

He let out a dry chuckle. "As if I don't know that. I fucked up, I know," he smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Are you ready to raise a child? I mean, there's a difference between carrying a child and giving it up and raising it," she murmured, her eyes flickering towards his waist.

"I helped raise Teddy, remember?"

"You know what I mean, Harry." She frowned heavily. "You won't have Andromeda ready to help you at all times."

"I know," he murmured and shifted a bit, wincing slightly when a twinge of pain shot through his back. "But I don't want to give up the baby, 'Mione. I would have if Draco stayed with Astoria, but … I know I shouldn't want to, but I don't want to give up my baby." He looked at her miserably.

She looked at him sympathetically. "It's not going to be easy for you, but you know Ron and I are here for you."

"I know," he replied and looked at her gratefully. He knew he could always count on his best friends, but at times it was nice to hear them affirm it.

"Harry?"

The dark haired man whipped his head around when Draco's exhausted voice rang through the room. The blond was leaning against the doorway with crossed arms; his lips pursed in annoyance.

"Draco, I'm talking with Hermione."

"It's fine. I need to kick Ron out of bed anyway," Hermione assured him. "I'll see you tomorrow for dinner?"

"Yes, I'll be there at six," he said and after offering him one last smile, Hermione disappeared and the flames turned red and gold again.

With a bit of trouble, he got up again, grimacing as his back protested. "Are you okay?" he asked worriedly and rubbed his lower back.

Draco released a heavy sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "Could have done without Astoria snapping, but it could have gone worse, I suppose."

"Does she suspect anything?" Harry asked apprehensively and bit his lip. He wondered where she had disappeared to after her argument with Draco.

The blond grimaced. "I think she does, but she can't prove anything. Besides, it's not like we slept together last night."

Arms slipped around his waist and hands came to rest on his lower back, rubbing soothingly over his tense muscles. "How are you feeling?" Draco inquired softly; his eyes reflecting his concern.

Harry released his breath slowly. "I'm fine. How are _you_?"

"I've been better, but I'm mainly relieved," the blond wizard muttered and a crooked smile lingered around his lips.

"What do you mean?" Harry furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

"I finally figured out what to do with my life," Draco explained and his hand came up to caress Harry's cheek. "And that's staying with you and raising our child together."

"So you haven't changed your mind?" Harry smiled weakly; his fingers buried in Draco's wrinkled shirt. Maybe yesterday's decision had only been made thanks to the alcohol Draco had indulged in. The ugly uncertainty in him had no trouble coming up with various reasons why the blond would retract his promise. Why would he give up a politically interesting marriage for a relationship that would make him a target of vicious gossip? Even after all this time, Harry received backlash for being gay – and he had been the main hero during the war. How bad would it become for Draco if he came out of the closet and announced himself as Harry's partner?

The man would have it worse than Harry, whose deeds during the war still acted as some sort of – albeit flimsy – buffer.

Harry closed his eyes as lips descended tenderly upon his forehead.

"There is nothing that can change my mind," Draco swore and the pregnant man felt his intense gaze on him, seemingly burning through layers of his skin. "I made a mistake when I agreed to marry Astoria, but what you and I have is not a mistake."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Harry protested and opened his eyes. "We're not even to- …"

"I know," Draco answered calmly. The hand on Harry's back shifted from his back to his stomach, caressing the bump gently. A sot push of a small fist was his reply. "I promise I'll make it right."

Harry didn't reply and instead kissed Draco hungrily, a bit of desperation leaking through; not minding the taste of morning breath.

Try as he might, he couldn't shake off the dark feeling of foreboding.

* * *

_21_ _st_ _of June_

Two weeks after his faithful conversation with Draco, Harry walked back to the garden with a book he had retrieved from the large library. Now that he couldn't work until the baby was born, he had to find other ways to pass the time. Ron and Hermione had to work and visiting George in his shop would be too hazardous in his state, so that left him with few options.

Thank Merlin the Malfoy family had a large library.

He was passing through the corridor of the first floor – serenely ignoring the dark muttering of one particular Malfoy ancestor – when somewhere behind him a door was slammed shut and footsteps hurried towards him.

Right when he turned his head to see who else was in the corridor, the person slammed against his shoulder; the shock causing him to drop his book that fell on the floor with a muffled 'thump' as he was forced to catch his balance against the wall.

"Apologies, Potter," Astoria sneered and looked at him coldly. "Sometimes I'm just a tad clumsy."

"That happens," Harry muttered warily. Something had happened that made the woman pissed off and he wasn't in the mood for the argument that would inevitably arise should he mention that the corridor was broad enough for her to be able to walk past him.

She snorted derisively and walked away with her head held high.

Harry clucked his tongue in annoyance and bent down, sinking down as much as he could without toppling over. Picking up his book was quite a chore with his eight month pregnant belly, but he didn't dare to use his wand, in case his magic decided to act up again. He didn't want to damage the book with his fickle magic.

Steadying himself with one hand against the wall, Harry grunted softly when he grabbed the book; after a brief inspection, it was clear that the book wasn't damaged. Now he only needed to get back up again.

"Harry! What are you doing?" Draco exclaimed and hurried towards the other man to help him get up again.

"Thanks. I dropped my book," Harry explained after he had regained his balance. He certainly wouldn't miss this feeling of unbalance thanks to the odd distribution of his weight.

"Why didn't you ask a house elf to pick it up?" Draco fussed; his hands lingering on Harry's side.

"Didn't think of it." Harry shrugged and frowned when he took notice of the harsh lines on Draco's face. "What happened?"

Draco seemed to close off; his eyes growing hard as his lips formed a thin line. "I told Astoria I want to divorce her," he answered and sighed noisily.

Harry gaped and nearly dropped his book again. No wonder Astoria had looked so angry. Wait, did that mean that she knew about _them_?

Worry brewed in him and fingers tightened around the spine of the novel.

"I confessed I'm in love with someone else," Draco continued. "I didn't tell her who, but that doesn't even matter. She refuses to divorce," he spat and glared at the floor. "She doesn't even love me, but now she knows that I want to split, she decides to be a stubborn bint!" He laughed darkly and his eyes glittered viciously. "Can you believe she threatens to take full custody of our baby if I push through with the divorce? That god damn bitch!"

Harry swallowed and despair started to grow in him. That was what he had been so afraid of: still losing his baby, even though Draco reciprocated his feelings. He knew it had been too good to be true. This was probably some sort of punishment, because he had started an affair with a married man.

Hermione had been right as usual; he should never have become Draco's surrogate. If he had never offered himself as a surrogate, they would have never landed themselves in this mess.

Or, he thought wearily, he might have been able to hold himself back.

Because it had become clear to him a while ago that he had had feelings for the blond for a long time already. The baby just had made it easier – and at the same time more difficult – to act on his hidden feelings.

Of course acting on his feelings and being honest with himself had caused him to be in this gigantic mess.

Why had he ever thought this could end well? He loathed his naivety; he should have known better, should have never given in.

"Hey." Draco broke through his thoughts and Harry opened his eyes.

"Maybe – maybe it's better if we put a stop to this," Harry said softly as his heart clenched with pain. He didn't want to end his relationship with Draco, but he also didn't want the baby to suffer. Now that Astoria knew that Draco wanted to leave her, she wouldn't stand by idly. She would do whatever it took to get back at Draco and Harry thought her capable of using the baby in her revenge.

He'd rather never see Draco and the baby again than that he would allow Astoria to use the child to hurt Draco.

He stared shocked at Draco when the latter grabbed his shoulders roughly; nails digging into his skin through his shirt as the blond scowled at him.

"Since when do you give up so easily, Potter?" he barked angrily. "Do you really think I'll give in to her?"

"But Draco, do you seriously want her to get full custody? She won't take a step back," Harry retorted and bit his lip; holding back a grunt of discomfort when the baby kicked his kidney.

"Oh, please; if I can survive sharing my home with an insane wizard, I can convince my _lovely_ wife to sign the divorce papers," Draco sneered and placed his hands on Harry's cheeks; his thumbs rubbing slowly back and forth over Harry's cheekbones. "And I'll make sure that she won't have custody of our baby at all."

The doubt must have shone through his eyes, because Draco kissed him and rested his forehead against Harry's; some strands of his hair tickling Harry's temple.

"Just trust me, please. I'll make everything right, I swear." Grey eyes stared at him solemnly, silently asking him for his answer. His hands drifted from Harry's face to his lower back; his warm palms searing through his shirt.

Harry nodded; his own arms winding around Draco's shoulders.

It wasn't as if he could do much else.

* * *

_27_ _th_ _of July_

Bees were buzzing around, flying from one flower to another one, as the sun cast its burning rays on the earth while some birds argued in the trees.

Two people were present in the garden, watching the serene scene as they sipped from their glasses filled with ice cold tea.

"You still haven't told me what you want for your birthday, Harry," Narcissa chided gently as she peered at the young man from underneath her large hat.

Harry shook his head with a faint smile. "I don't need anything, Narcissa," he assured her and rubbed absentmindedly over his large stomach when a twang of pain shot through his side. He shifted around, trying to find a better position in which he wouldn't be bothered by his large belly. Being nearly due to deliver and feeling incredibly bloated, this was certainly not an easy feat.

She huffed and looked at him in a reprimanding manner. "Everyone deserves gifts for their birthday, darling."

"But I really don't know what I want." He shrugged helplessly, fixing his gaze on the hand on his belly. Well, that was a lie. He knew what he wanted; it was just nothing that Narcissa could give to him.

The only one who could give it to him was away at the moment, attending a meeting while at the same time trying to come up with a way to divorce his wife without her taking drastic measures.

So far he hadn't found a way and Harry did his best to curb his disappointment. He knew the divorce wouldn't happen quickly and that it wouldn't be easy, but he was dreading the moment when he had to give birth and had to leave afterwards. The knowledge that he would have to give up his baby at least until the divorce was finalized hurt him deeply, but he knew there was no way around it. If he tried to keep the baby, there was no doubt in his mind that Astoria would make certain he would never see his son again.

"Uncle Harry, come look!" Teddy called out urgently. He was standing in front of a rose bush, staring at something intently, with his hands on his knees as he bent forwards a bit.

Andromeda had a meeting with the goblins in Gringotts and had asked Harry whether he would mind babysitting Teddy for today. Narcissa had immediately assured him that she wouldn't mind having Teddy at the manor; Lucius had remained silent and had merely retreated to his office.

With a silent huff, Harry stood up and practically waddled over to his godson; rubbing over his back when another twang of pain shot through him. With Teddy present, he was once again wearing his magical belt so that his godson wouldn't discover his pregnancy.

"What did you see, Teddy?" he asked curiously and bent over, closer to the rose bush. He bit back a grimace when a sharp bolt of pain popped up near his left side. The pain simmered for a couple of seconds before it disappeared again.

"Look; that's a pretty butterfly," Teddy whispered awed and pointed at a butterfly resting on one of the rose buds; its slowly beating wings were a mixture of blue and green.

Harry smiled and quickly ruffled Teddy's wild, dark brown hair. "It's quite pretty," he agreed.

Teddy insisted on showing him every flower he thought was pretty and Harry indulged him, slowly walking behind him. He could feel Narcissa's concerned eyes on him as they made their way through the garden and he occasionally looked back at her to reassure her everything was fine.

Well, except for the blistering sun and the small twangs of pain that kept shooting through him, making him clench his teeth as they slowly built up in intensity. His cramps had never been this bad before. Was it because he wasn't used anymore to walking around for such a long time? Both Narcissa and Draco had insisted that he rested as much as he could, keeping his feet off the ground.

Right when he was about to tell Teddy that it was time for them to retreat to the shadows again, he froze when the baby gave one harsh kick and suddenly he felt warm liquid trailing down his legs, darkening his trousers a bit.

"Oh," he breathed out and his hand automatically shot out to cover his stomach. The painful cramps he had been experiencing all morning gained a whole new meaning.

His water had just broken. The baby was coming.

Something in his posture must have tipped off Narcissa, because he heard her hurrying towards him and Teddy.

"Teddy, the house elves have made an ice cream cake especially for you," she smiled as she halted next to Harry. "I believe they are finished with it now. Would you like a piece?"

"YES!" Teddy cried out excitedly and rushed off to the kitchen, forgoing his admiration of the garden for the moment.

As soon as Teddy had disappeared into the manor, Narcissa turned towards Harry. "Harry, are you okay?" Her gaze was drawn downwards and she let out a surprised gasp as she saw his darkened trousers.

He smiled weakly at her. "Looks like the baby couldn't wait any longer," he joked and couldn't hold back a loud hiss of pain as a new cramp – a _contraction_ – swept over him. Okay, yeah, that one _hurt_.

"Let's get you to your room, okay?" Narcissa murmured and touched his arm.

He nodded; already itching to get rid of his trousers which clung uncomfortably against his skin. One hand rubbing anxiously over his hardened stomach, he followed the blonde woman to the manor. They passed the kitchen – hearing Teddy awing over the large ice cream cake – and by coincidence encountered both Astoria and Lucius in the hallway.

Grey eyes looked at the position of his hands keenly. "Is it time?" Lucius asked abruptly; his hand clenching around his cane.

"Yes, dear. Please Floo Healer Lyrian and tell her she needs to come through to help Harry," Narcissa replied calmly and then addressed Astoria, who had an odd look in her eyes. "Astoria, darling, can you Floo Draco and tell him he needs to return home now?"

She nodded silently and disappeared into the foyer while Lucius made his way upstairs to Floo call in his office.

"Come on now, dear, while you still can walk," Narcissa smiled and kept a hand on his arm as she and Harry made their way to his room.

A house elf must have been alerted somehow because when they entered his bedroom, his bed had been stripped off all its fancy sheets and were replaced with pure white ones.

Narcissa politely turned away as he changed into a large shirt and new boxers, sighing a bit in relief as the coolness of the clothes brushed against his heated skin. A house elf popped up in the room to gather his discarded clothes and after bowing to him left again.

As Harry sat down on the bed, Narcissa held up a pack of cards and smiled wryly.

"I know that your labour won't take long with the potions, but I thought we could spend the time playing cards until you're ready," she offered and while she sounded calm, the excited glitter in her eyes told Harry that she couldn't wait until her grandson was born.

He smiled back and nodded. "Sure, sounds good to me."

* * *

They had been playing with the cards for half an hour – Harry occasionally pausing the game when he was hit with a contraction – when Lyrian swept inside the room, carrying her large bag.

"All right, Harry, let me check how far you've progressed until now," she announced as she sterilized her hands.

He nodded and removed his boxers, halting for a few seconds as his stomach cramped again. As soon as the wave of pain died out again, he took a deep breath and let his underwear drop on the floor, trusting a house elf to pick it up as well.

He shuffled around a bit until he was on his back and he bit his lip as Lyrian pushed his legs up and spread them a bit. He hadn't realised how embarrassing it would be to have someone looking at his private parts so intently. He jumped a bit as he felt fingers touching an opening that hadn't been there before and barely restrained from lashing out with his foot.

Lyrian clucked her tongue thoughtfully and nodded. "Looks like your birth cannel has completely formed," she announced and Harry heard Narcissa sighing softly in relief.

Snape had given him the potions needed to give birth to his baby and while the potions had a high success rate, a small percentage of men only formed half complete cannels, leading to dangerous complications during the birth.

Harry had worried about that in the back of his mind, so he shared Narcissa's relief that the potions had worked perfectly.

"You've also progressed pretty far already," Lyrian continued and signed that he could lower his legs again for the moment. "Your dilation is already seven centimetres." She raised an eyebrow. "Have you notified Mister Malfoy that you're in labour?"

"Yes," Harry replied and clenched his teeth when another cramp assaulted him, automatically holding his breath in an attempt to ride the wave of pain. A bit out of breath he continued, "Astoria Floo called him."

"You need to keep breathing, dear," Narcissa murmured and surprised him by brushing his hair out of his face.

Lyrian pinched her lips together, but nodded and settled in a chair next to the bed, casting spells that would monitor both his and the baby's health.

* * *

Two hours later found Harry bent over, his hands gripping the side of his desk, as he forced himself to breathe through yet another contraction. They were following up each other quicker now and the intensity was increasing as well, leaving him sweating profusely despite the Cooling charms that had been cast in the room. Moaning lowly in pain, he had to hold himself back from pushing, but it was becoming difficult to ignore that feeling. He could feel his baby dropping lower, but he still wasn't ready to push and so all he could do was try to relax and breathe through the pain every time a contraction swept over him, making him feel as if a knife was slashing through his stomach.

Then there was the issue of Draco _still not being here_.

Where the hell was he? He knew he had to be there to lend his magic to Harry during the birth – so why was he still not here?

"Harry, lay back down on the bed, so I can check your progress again," Lyrian ordered and Narcissa – who hadn't left even once – helped him back on the bed, of which the sheets now were thoroughly mussed up already as Harry had accidentally kicked out with his legs when he had been surprised by a very painful contraction.

Closing his eyes tightly as yet another contraction hit him, he felt Narcissa grabbing his hand and without thinking twice, he squeezed hers harshly, trying to steady himself with her presence.

"Nine centimetres," Lyrian remarked and furrowed her eyebrows. "It won't be long anymore before you need to start pushing."

While that news should have made him happy – by this point he just wanted the baby _out_ of him – he couldn't help but feel incredibly nervous. "Even," he licked his lips, "even if Draco's not here?"

Lyrian sighed heavily and looked at him broodingly. "Yes; his absence will make it more difficult, but if he's still not here by the time you're ready to push, we can't do anything else but proceed. Halting the process will bring your baby in danger. You're already progressing slower than expected, because he's not here. Thankfully Mrs. Malfoy's magic is able to help you somewhat, so the damage has been limited so far."

He took a shuddering breath and let his head drop back down on the pillows, his stomach cramping with something else than contractions this time. While it didn't put him at ease to hear that he was going to be in trouble soon, he appreciated the fact that Lyrian didn't mince her words. He'd rather her be truthful than sugar coat what was happening.

Abruptly Narcissa stood up; a fire lightening up in her eyes. "I'm going to see where on earth my son is," she announced and strode out of the room, clearly angry that Draco still wasn't present.

Another contraction went through him and this time he keened loudly in pain, shooting up to curl around his stomach, his hands clenched tightly around it, as the pain seemed suddenly worse; the need to push rose again.

"No, Harry, you can't push yet," Lyrian snapped and forced him back against his pillows.

"Why was this one so much worse?" he whimpered as the contraction finally disappeared, leaving him trembling in its after wake.

She looked at him troubled as she cast more spells. "Because you're almost fully dilated and because Mrs. Malfoy left the room, so her magic couldn't support you anymore," she replied and pursed her lips. "So far you have been supported by her magic, because subconsciously your magic recognizes the link she has with Mister Malfoy. With her gone, your magic isn't stabilized anymore."

Harry placed an arm over his eyes, telling himself that the few stray tears in his eyes were from the lingering pain and not from the fear that was slowly growing in him.

He wouldn't and couldn't lose his baby.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Narcissa wasn't back yet, but the contractions kept assaulting Harry one after another and he barely kept himself from screaming in pain as their intensity grew, until the pain felt worse than what he had experienced under the Cruciatus curse.

After he once more dropped back on the bed exhausted, Lyrian examined him again.

He only looked at her when he felt her hands on his knees and he froze when he saw the grim look in her eyes. "Wh-what's wrong?" he stammered and his hand clenched around part of the sheets.

"You're fully dilated, Harry," she answered softly and with a flick of her wand a small basin appeared and was filled with warm water; a small pile of towels rested next to it. "That means you need to start pushing as soon as you feel another contraction coming up. You can rest a bit afterwards, but I need you to keep pushing with every contraction, all right? And keep breathing calmly."

"But Draco isn't here yet!" he protested and breathed shallowly. He couldn't start pushing without Draco being here! He needed him to be here, damn it!

"I know, Harry," she retorted sternly. "But you have no other choice! I'm not going to have both of you in distress, because you're trying to hold back until Mister Malfoy is here. Now, with the next contraction, you must start pushing!"

"I can't, not without him, I just can't," Harry blabbed and shook his head; fear simmering inside of him. The thought of giving birth without Draco there to support him utterly terrified him.

"You'll have to!" Lyrian snapped. "Your baby needs to be born now and he won't wait!"

Right when Harry was about to snap, the door slammed open, revealing a harried looking Draco.

"Mister Malfoy, you're late!" Lyrian glared at him as he hastily dumped his robes and settled himself next to Harry on the bed. "Didn't I tell you that you have to be here as soon as Harry went into labour?"

"I know," Draco groused as he let Harry grab his hand firmly. "I didn't get any mention until my mother came into the meeting herself! If I had known sooner that Harry is in labour, I would have been here sooner!"

Before the realisation that Astoria's message apparently hadn't gone through could fully register in Harry's mind, he was assaulted by a strong contraction, making him groan in pain as he tightened his grip on Draco's hand.

"Start pushing, Harry," Lyrian told him and he did as she ordered, feeling faintly relieved that after all this time he could finally start pushing.

Their baby boy slowly made his way through Harry's birth cannel, so slowly that Harry was starting to worry that something had gone wrong. With both Draco and Lyrian encouraging him to keep pushing however, he didn't have time to contemplate his worry as he pushed through every contraction until his skin felt so hot that he thought he was on fire.

"You're doing well, Harry; keep going," Draco murmured in his ear; by now his hand had paled until it was a stark white thanks to the bruising grip Harry had on it.

"Shut, shut up!" Harry groaned as he pressed his chin to his chest, pushing once more.

He was getting tired, so tired. How much time had gone by since he started pushing? An hour? Two hours? He didn't know; the only thing he did know was that he wanted his baby _out now_.

After more time had passed with Harry pushing with all his strength – or whatever he still had left – Lyrian uttered a triumphant sound.

"I can see his head, Harry! Keep going!"

"Fuck!" Harry gasped and fell back against Draco's shoulder, as his strength left him. He could feel his baby crowning and he knew he had to keep pushing, but he was so exhausted that he only uttered a weak moan when another contraction went through him.

"Harry, you can't give up now!" Lyrian warned him. "You need to keep going a bit longer! He's almost here!"

Harry startled when he felt lips brushing against his sweaty temple.

"Come on, Harry, just a bit longer," Draco muttered and with his free hand brushed Harry's sweat soaked locks out of his face. "I know you're tired now, but you have to keep going for just a bit longer, okay? Our son is nearly here, but he still needs your help. Don't give up now."

Harry couldn't suppress a sob, but he nodded and when the next contraction hit him, he started pushing once more, begging to whatever deity was up there to help him get through the agonizing pain.

It felt impossible to get his baby out of him – surely he couldn't stretch that far for the baby to fit through?! – but suddenly his baby slipped out of him, right in Lyrian's hands.

"Oh god," Harry uttered exhausted and fell back, panting harshly as he tried to adjust to the sensation of feeling raw and empty. He felt himself passing the afterbirth, but was too tired to open his eyes.

The sharp crying of a new born did make him open his eyes blearily and next to him Draco murmured in awe, "Oh Merlin, he's here!"

"Congratulations, Mister Malfoy. You have a healthy baby boy," Lyrian announced with a bright smile as she cleaned the crying baby and wrapped him up in a clean towel. She handed him over to Draco, whose shocked face was priceless and if Harry wasn't so exhausted, he would have chuckled and snapped a picture of his face.

"I can't believe it," Draco muttered dazed, staring down at the bundle in his arms. "He's here. He's finally here."

"Don't faint now, Draco," Harry quipped tiredly as Lyrian helped him clean up. Fuck, his entire body felt so weak he didn't think he would be able to stand up without falling down. Not to mention that the sudden empty feeling in his stomach was quite unsettling.

"What are you going to name him?" Lyrian asked and helped Harry sit up.

"Scorpius," Draco replied; his gaze still trained on his son, who was making smacking sounds with his pouty lips. "Scorpius Sirius Malfoy."

Harry stared at the blond in shock as Lyrian smiled knowingly. "That's a beautiful name," she murmured and inclined her head. "I'll leave you two alone for now. I'll inform your family that little Scorpius has been born."

"Draco, what …" Harry stared at him confused as the door softly closed behind the Healer.

Draco looked at him with a tender smile. "I heard you talking to our son a couple of weeks ago; saying that you would like him to be named after your godfather. Your godfather was a brave man, Harry; I can't think of a better name for our son."

Tears dropped on the fresh sheets; hands clenched tightly into the cool, white cloth. "Thank you," Harry whispered and laughed shakenly as more and more tears slipped down his cheeks.

"Say hello to our son, Harry," Draco whispered and sat down next to him again, placing their baby boy on Harry's chest.

Dark blond hair peeked out from underneath the pale blue blanket and dark blue eyes gazed back at him in wonder. Small, chubby hands were curled into fists and plump cheeks were a bright red.

"Hey there," Harry whispered and through his blurry sight he carefully stroked Scorpius' cheek, feeling the soft skin underneath his own. He placed a tender kiss on the baby's wrinkled forehead and overwhelmed with love for this small being, he started crying in earnest; his sobs turning painful as he realised that he soon would have to give his baby up.

Arms slipped around him and lips pressed several kisses on his face. "I've got you," Draco whispered and tightened his embrace. "It'll be okay, you'll see. I promise everything will be all right."

In the midst of his crying bout, his baby slightly fussing around and Draco's whispered "I've got you; I'm here." Harry slipped into an exhausted slumber; his mind blessedly blank.

* * *

Two days later found Harry in the nursery, feeding a calmed down Scorpius. The baby had been crying loudly, wanting his diaper to be exchanged and afterwards he was still fussy, indicating that he was hungry. Draco had been called into a meeting suddenly – something to do with a shipment gone wrong – and Astoria had been nowhere near the nursery, so the moment Harry had picked up the sound of distressed crying, he had hurried towards his son.

If he had to be honest, he didn't mind nursing Scorpius. As far as he knew, Astoria had only held Scorpius a couple of times since he was born two days ago. Narcissa, on the other hand, had started doting on the little boy the moment she laid eyes on him. Even Lucius had softened up enough to hold the baby in his arms.

Staring morosely down at the drinking boy, the dark haired man wondered how much time he had left with his son. It wouldn't be long anymore before he had to return to his house.

_Alone._

Leaving his son behind.

The thought of being separated from his son had despair whirling inside of him. He didn't want to give up his baby, but he knew he had no choice. As long as Draco didn't manage to convince Astoria to sign the divorce papers, Harry wouldn't be able to remain with his son and that thought _hurt_.

Looking at his son, he asked himself how he had ever thought he would be capable of giving up his baby without any trouble. It had been a doomed plan from the very beginning.

"What are you doing here?"

The cold voice of Astoria behind him had him nearly jumping up in fright and he hastily turned around.

Her blue eyes were colder than ice as she regarded him blankly; one manicured hand resting against the door.

"I … I heard Scorpius crying," Harry replied haltingly. "He needed his diaper changed and he was hungry, so I decided to feed him."

She took a step towards him and he forced himself to remain still. It wasn't like he had been doing anything illegal; he was simply taking care of the baby when no one else had been around.

"You could have sent a house elf to get me," she retorted sharply.

"I'm sorry; I didn't think of that," he said stiffly and put the empty bottle down on the dresser, cradling Scorpius against his towel clad shoulder so that the little boy could burp.

He tried to ignore the burning gaze as he rocked Scorpius slowly back and forth, coaxing him back to sleep. Her cold eyes remained locked on him as he silently crossed the room to Scorpius' bed.

As soon as Harry was done tucking the sleeping baby inside his bed – forgoing the kiss he so far had given the baby boy every time he cared for him – Astoria spoke up again.

"Don't you think it is time that you return back to your house?" she asked idly and her sharp heels click clacked on the floor. "After all, you have finished your favour for the Malfoy family. From what I've heard, your wards have been renewed as well."

"I …" Harry trailed off helplessly, not knowing how to respond to that quip.

"You don't want to further impose on this family and confuse the baby, now would you?" she smiled poisonously sweet as she cocked her head. "Draco and I are able to take it from here. Your duty is done now."

He wanted to curse her, wipe that ugly, satisfied smirk off her face. Wanted to throw it back into her face that her own husband was just waiting for a chance to get rid of her.

But he didn't do anything. Couldn't do anything. All he could do was bow his head, swallow back all the curses he wanted to throw at her, and leave the nursery with a heavy, bleeding heart to collect his stuff and return back to his house for the first time in almost five months.

The moment the fireplace spat him out in his own foyer – _once so familiar, now so foreign_ – his legs stopped supporting him and he dropped down on the floor, as heart wrenching sobs were torn out of his mouth.

He hadn't even been able to say a proper goodbye to his son.

Facing reality – facing the prospect that he would never be able to care for Scorpius as his father – had never felt so cruel before.

* * *

His birthday was spent keeping up a façade of happiness as the Weasley family threw a party for him, inviting Teddy and Andromeda as well. Harry appreciated the thought, but it was exhausting to pretend to be happy, all the while dodging Hermione's concerned questions. He knew she meant well, but at this moment he just couldn't bring himself to talk about how he felt now.

The only highlight in the overall miserable day had been the moment in which he got to hold Scorpius again, when Draco visited him briefly during the evening to celebrate his birthday with him.

Celebrating his birthday with both Draco and Scorpius had been amazing and yet at the same time painful as well, because he was all too aware of the fact that his time with his baby boy was limited. The blond man had assured him he was doing everything to ensure that Astoria would agree to a divorce and while Harry tried his best to believe him, he didn't dare to get his hope up.

It was already painful to say goodbye to Scorpius now even with being cautious of the fact that he shouldn't become used to this – how much more painful would it be if he allowed himself to hope, only to never see that hope turned into reality?

* * *

Three weeks had gone by since Scorpius was born and Harry had started working again in the hospital, in an attempt to distract himself from the empty feeling in him that was a reminder of the fact that he wasn't allowed to be with his son. He had become a frequent visitor of Malfoy Manor; usually it was either Draco or Narcissa inviting him over for tea or dinner and he was too weak to say no to the opportunity to be near his son. In Draco's case this was his way of having Harry involved with his son; why Narcissa was suddenly so adamant about Harry visiting the manor was beyond his comprehension, but he couldn't refuse.

He cherished those moments when he could pick up his son and feel his comforting weight in his arms. Nobody looked up twice if he offered to feed Scorpius or take care of him in general whenever the little boy became fussy – everyone, that is, except for Astoria.

Whenever she was around when Harry visited, she made it a point to hold Scorpius in her own arms, refusing to let him hold the boy even once – until Scorpius' crying became too much for her and as she didn't manage to soothe him, no matter what she did, she was always quick to dump the baby in Draco's arms before she left the room angrily.

It made Harry worried about Scorpius; Draco had quietly told him during one of their spare evenings alone together that Astoria was having a hard time taking care of Scorpius. The baby was nearly always fussing whenever she was holding him and only calmed down when Draco or Narcissa took him in their arms.

Or whenever Harry held him.

The fact that Scorpius was more willing to calm down in Harry's arms than in her own had Astoria quite frustrated at times and it made Harry pray that Draco would convince her to go through with the divorce soon.

Maybe he was jealous of the fact that she could remain near Scorpius at all times, but he felt ill at ease whenever he saw her frustration mounting.

A frustrated Astoria was not a nice – or comforting – sight.

* * *

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Harry asked with slight trepidation as he lightly stumbled out of the fireplace.

He had just changed into his regular clothes after having one of the most exhausting shifts in his life when Draco had shown up, declaring that Harry was to join him at Malfoy Manor to celebrate Scorpius turning one month old.

Draco pressed a quick kiss on his mouth. "Why not? It's been a couple of days since you visited and Scorpius really misses you," he murmured, squeezing Harry's hand gently.

Harry bit his lip. "I don't want to make Astoria angrier than she already is. I've heard you arguing with her a couple of days ago," he retorted, heavily frowning.

"Don't think about her now, okay?" Draco replied and tugged him with him. "I want you here to celebrate Scorpius turning one month old. You can't miss this."

Harry shook his head, but unwillingly he smiled; already relaxing due to the prospect of seeing his son again. He had missed him so much these past few days – the ache his absence had caused had been nearly unbearable.

They had barely set foot on the first landing when the sound of Scorpius' distressed crying floated towards them. It tugged at Harry's heartstrings to hear his baby boy crying so loudly, but what he heard next had him in shock.

"WOULD YOU SHUT UP FOR ONE GOD DAMN MINUTE, YOU USELESS BRAT?!" Astoria screamed, which only caused to make Scorpius cry harder.

Without even thinking twice, Harry rushed towards the nursery, Draco following closely; heart racing madly in his chest, he wrenched open the door and was met with the horrifying sight of Astoria snatching Scorpius' right arm tightly, making the boy wail in pain, as she raised her other arm to smack him.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HIM!" Harry snarled and his magic left him in a short burst, throwing the woman away from his terrified son.

"Harry, take Scorpius and get him out of here," Draco ordered and marched towards Astoria, who was scrambling up again with her face red and ugly in fury.

Harry rushed towards the crib and picked the squirming baby out of it, already hushing and soothing him as he quickly walked out of the room.

"You're okay now, Scorpius. She won't hurt you anymore, I promise," he murmured and frankly cast several spells to check how badly hurt Scorpius was.

Not even the knowledge that the damage was limited to a bruise was able to quell the rage inside of him. Astoria had gone too far. He could deal with her belittling him and hurting him by keeping Scorpius away from him, but what he couldn't deal with was the fact that she had been about to seriously hurt his son.

It didn't matter what kind of legal ties she had to Scorpius – if she came near him ever again, he would make certain that she would regret ever laying her hands on his baby boy.

Eyes darkening in cold fury and body slightly quaking with rage, he made his way back downstairs.

"I'm taking you home with me, okay, darling? You'll be safe with me," Harry murmured and pressed fluttering kisses on Scorpius' forehead as his small body still trembled with hiccups, but his green eyes – the exact copy of Harry's – stared at him trustingly, as if the young boy instinctively knew that he was safe now.

He had just descended the large staircase when footsteps rapidly making their way towards him had him grabbing his wand and whirling around, as Astoria's shrill voice reached him.

"This is all that whore's fault! It's his fault that you've now got a useless brat for a son!"

She appeared on top of the staircase, an aura of fury surrounding her, and raised her wand.

"Astoria, don't you …!"

"Avada Kedavra!"


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author's note: And we finally have reached the ending for this fic! To be honest, I didn't think I would ever manage to finish this story. Also I had a really bad week, but your reviews managed to cheer me up, so for that I thank you all!
> 
> Thanks for the kudos and the comments! I really appreciate them!
> 
> I'm really astonished at the amount of reviews the previous chapter gathered, but I suspect it had something to do with the ending LOL
> 
> PAY ATTENTION TO THE WARNINGS
> 
> Warnings: set a couple of years in the future; Draco's pov; flashbacks; character death; slightly Darkish Draco
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling owns it.
> 
> I hope you'll like the last chapter!

_Chapter 8: Epilogue_

_Mister Malfoy_

_As per your request, we – the Department of Magical Law Enforcement – write to you, because we have news relating to your ex-spouse, Astoria Greengrass._

_We are sorry to inform you that on Thursday, the twenty-second of October, Miss Astoria Greengrass (inmate number 54786), during yet another attempt to escape her prison cell, ended up in a scuffle with one of our remaining Dementors. This scuffle resulted in the …_

Slowly the letter was lowered and folded again, before it was placed in the middle drawer of the desk. The recipient of it, a blond man of twenty-seven years old, leant back in his chair and stared contemplatively at the oak desk.

When Draco woke up this morning, he certainly hadn't expected to receive news of this magnitude. He expected to feel at least a bit of remorse, maybe even a hint of sadness, but he merely felt at ease, as if a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders.

Astoria had been serving a life long sentence without any chance of parole in Azkaban for nearly five years now. During her stay there she had tried at least three times to escape, but her attempts had always been thwarted just in time. In the beginning she had been placed on the second level of the prison, that being the one for moderately dangerous criminals. After her first two attempts to escape, they had transferred her to the highest level which had constant high level security in the form of three Aurors and four Dementors.

That had been nearly two years ago and he hadn't received any news about her – until now. Her fourth attempt to escape had resulted in her colliding with a Dementor patrolling the corridor at that moment and before any of the Aurors had been able to stop the creature, it had sucked her soul out of her body.

Astoria had died at twenty-five years old; she was one of the youngest inmates to die in the history of Azkaban.

Releasing his breath slowly, he picked up his cup of tea and sipped from the hot beverage; his mind bringing up the first and last time he had visited his ex-wife in Azkaban.

_The island on which Azkaban had been built was as dreary as ever, Draco noted from his spot in the boat. The sky was grey, overcast and looked like it was trying to decide whether it should start raining or not. Even the water was dark and murky and seemingly completely devoid of life. The presence of the Dementors – even though very few remained now after the war – seemed to have both an effect on humans and on nature._

_No wonder most inmates became insane after years in this remote, dark place._

_Draco shuddered and tightened his grip on his wand, which was hidden in his sleeve. Grey eyes slid from the murky water to the grey building dooming up in front of him as the fog parted for the boat._

_He couldn't afford to let himself be distracted by the oppressive atmosphere; he had one goal today and he needed to accomplish that one without hesitation._

_Not, he thought darkly, that I will hesitate for even one second._

_The boat gently bumped against the sandy ground and the guard nodded to him silently. Accepting that as his cue to leave the boat, he stepped down on the sand; his boots sinking down slightly. Somewhere behind him, the faint sound of a dog howling could be heard._

_An Auror – a sandy brown haired man with a gentle face – was already waiting for him when he reached the entrance of the imposing building._

" _Draco Malfoy?" The Auror shook his hand briefly. "You're here to see Astoria Greengrass, correct?"_

" _Yes, that is correct," Draco replied calmly, inclining his head once._

" _Please follow me. Her cell is on the second level," the Auror informed him and pressed his hand right in the middle of the heavy door. A ward which was set up so that it would only allow people keyed into it – allowing one other person to accompany them – flashed and chirped lowly once before it recognised the Auror and the door swung open._

_Before they completely entered the building, the man turned towards him and said earnestly, "Even though the Dementors – only a few – are confined to the highest level, please keep pleasant thoughts in your mind to counteract their presence."_

_Draco nodded stiffly and followed the broad shouldered man into the main hall. He clung to the memory of the day his son was born as he and the Auror made their way through the corridors. Even though there were several levels between the Dementors and them, coldness, carrying with it fear and despair, still filled the corridors, seeping through the tiniest cracks._

_An elevator – creaking slightly due to its age – brought them to the second level, bypassing several cells in which inmates were either sleeping, complaining or simply staring endlessly._

_Suppressing the urge to shiver, Draco stepped out of the elevator when it stopped; the doors opening to reveal a long, dark corridor._

_They were on the second level: where moderately dangerous criminals were locked behind bars._

_The place were his now ex-wife resided for the rest of her life._

" _She is in cell 56. You have twenty minutes, Mister Malfoy," the Auror warned him and disappeared into a tiny office._

_Taking a deep breath, he slowly made his way through the dark corridor, not even flinching when some inmates tried to grab his robes. Ignoring their outraged cries and jeering taunts, he finally halted in front of cell 56. The torch mounted on the wall next to it flared to life, providing him with some light._

_Blue eyes revealed themselves in a dark corner of the small cell and stared at him balefully._

" _Good afternoon, Astoria," Draco said coolly._

_Slowly she rose up and patted over to the bars; her long fingers – once perfectly manicured, now bruised and her nails ragged and clearly bitten off – curled around the iron bars._

" _Come to gloat?" she sneered; her long, blonde hair hung lifelessly around her face._

" _I came to inform you that my lawyer finished the divorce procedure," he informed her blandly, briefly brandishing the papers with the undeniable proof printed on them. "Even more, he managed to push through for a complete annulment, making it so that it appears as if we have never been married in the first place."_

_She bared her teeth; her eyes flashing up in anger. "I bet you're satisfied now. Now you can fuck that whore of yours as much as you want. Oh wait." A bitter smile played around her lips. "I had forgotten that you didn't need to be divorced to fuck that slut."_

_His arm shot out through the bars before she realised it and he gripped her throat tightly, squeezing into it warningly._

" _Don't ever call him a whore or a slut again," he warned her softly and put more pressure on her throat until she was gasping; her hands scrabbling along his arms. When it looked like she would pass out, he abruptly released her, letting her drop on the filthy floor._

_Rubbing a hand over her bruised throat, she glared at him hatefully. "I should have attacked him sooner. He's nothing but a disgrace as a wizard and an abomination," she spat, coughing as her lungs worked to get air inside of her again._

_He slowly shook his head. "The only reason why I didn't kill you back then is because I know Harry wouldn't have wanted that," he told her, adjusting his sleeves._

" _Because he's such a perfect saint!" She laughed bitterly and rose up again on unsteady legs._

" _I didn't come here to waste my time arguing with you," Draco sighed and let his wand drop from his sleeve into his hand._

_Instantly her gaze was fixated on his wand and for the first time since they started talking, a hint of fear slumbered in her look. "How did you get your wand past the guards? They put it away for the entire visit."_

" _Normally that's protocol, yes," he agreed and smirked darkly. "But this particular Auror was quite happy to pretend he hasn't seen my wand. It's just your lucky day, Astoria, that the guard on duty today is eternally grateful for what Harry did for him. Two years ago, Harry saved the life of that man's wife and he has not forgotten that fact at all. As a way of thanking him, he has conveniently forgotten to remove my wand from my possession. Funny, how things can turn out, huh?"_

" _What are you planning to do?" she whispered and this time the fear was audible in her voice._

_For the first time in his life, Draco relished the feeling of instilling fear in someone. His ex-wife deserved worse for what she had done, but this would have to suffice._

" _Death would be way too easy for you, I see that now," he murmured and raised his wand. "That's why I have a special curse picked out for you. Tristia Somnia Aeternum."_

_A soft purple pulsing light left his wand and wrapped itself instantly around Astoria's head, sinking into her brain, hooking its claws into her._

_From now on, Astoria would suffer from random bouts of sleep in which she was subjected to terrifying nightmares. There would be nights where she would be able to go to sleep without a problem, but other nights would have her quaking in fear and pleading for the morning to arrive to deliver her from her nightmares._

_The dreary atmosphere of the prison would be a nasty aid for the curse._

_Draco thought it was a fitting punishment for her, considering the nightmare she had put his family through._

_Still keeping the memory of the day Scorpius was born pictured in his mind, he turned around and went back to the elevator, serenely ignoring her cries of outrage and fear as she had recognised what the curse would do to her._

_This was the first and last time he would see her._

Three months after his visit, she had made a first attempt to escape, but had been apprehended before she could even reach the elevator. All her escape attempts had been kept from his family; he saw no need to instil worry in them as her attempts had never been successful. He did have to admit that he himself had fretted every time an owl of the Ministry appeared in front of his window. He had made an oath to himself that if she ever did manage to escape, he would get rid of her immediately if she showed up near his family.

One time going through that paralyzing fear had been enough and to this day he wondered whether he shouldn't have taken more extreme measures to punish his ex-wife. It wasn't as if her family would have retaliated against him, should his revenge have been more extreme. Blaise, who had married Daphne Greengrass two years ago, had informed him during one of their meetings that the Greengrass family had disowned Astoria as soon as news had spread of what she had done. They had been too ashamed and revolted and had promptly cut all ties with her.

In the end Astoria had died all alone, thanks to her own doing.

Shaking his head wearily, he drained the last bit of chamomile tea in his cup and stood up, casting an idle glance out of the window. Outside the branches of the three thick trees planted at the edge of the property were swaying in the wind and if he concentrated he thought he could faintly hear the groaning of the oaks as they were subjected to the harsh gusts of wind. The sun had momentarily shown up this morning, but had to quickly lose its battle with the dark, grey clouds and by now rain was streaming down the sky, battering the ground and turning it into mud.

Autumn had arrived in the country and it was making its presence known.

A whimsical smile played around his lips as he mused about his plans for the thirty-first of October. If the weather continued to behave like today, it would make visiting the graveyard quite problematic.

Problematic, but not impossible. He wouldn't let his plans be derailed or put on hold simply because of harsh autumn weather.

A soft knock on the door of his home office made him turn his head, his hand casually resting around his empty cup; feeling the faint warmth of the tea lingering against his skin. "Yes?" he called out calmly.

The door slightly creaked as it opened and a dark blond head popped out from the gap. Deep green eyes gazed at him. "Eat, papa," four year old Scorpius announced softly.

"Is it already dinner time?" Draco mused and turned around completely.

Scorpius nodded and some strands of his golden blond hair – darker than Draco's – fell across his cheek. "Clock says five, papa. That's this many." He held up five chubby fingers proudly, before a pout adorned his face. "Teddy home. Teddy not eat with me."

"I'm sure he'll have dinner with us another time," Draco soothed his son and crossed the room to him, his cup loosely held in his hand.

Despite being left in the dark for nearly thirteen months, Teddy had quickly taken to Scorpius once he was introduced to him when the baby had been three months old. Teddy had made no problems about it, hadn't thrown a fit, but merely accepted the baby as his new cousin. He had started questioning how Scorpius had been born, but before either Draco or Andromeda could explain, he had already been distracted by Scorpius who had giggled; effectively drawing his cousin's attention towards him and making him forget about his questions entirely.

"Promise?" Scorpius peered at him hopefully.

"Promise," Draco reassured him and quickly stroked his hair back. While he had received the blond gene from Draco's side of the family, the boy clearly took after his other father when it concerned the messiness of his hair.

"Good," Scorpius replied satisfied and grinned widely. "I like Teddy."

"I know," Draco chuckled and then raised an eyebrow. "Did you wash your hands?"

"Yes …" the little boy replied slowly and was quick to put his hands behind his back in an attempt to hide them from his father. A look of guilt quickly crossed his face.

"Really?" Draco drawled; hiding his amusement. "Then you don't mind showing me your hands, right, Scorpius?"

"But papa," Scorpius whined and pouted; clearly having hoped to get away with not washing his hands before dinner.

"Go on, now. Go wash your hands," Draco said and let a hint of sternness leak through his voice.

While the boy occasionally dared to push past his boundaries, trying to figure out how far he could go before his father became angry, this time he seemed to realise that he was fighting a lost battle and his pout grew, but he obediently turned around and pitter-pattered to the bathroom, located at the end of the corridor.

Draco paused in the middle of his doorway and after a short bout of contemplation, he huffed impatiently and turned around once more, walking back to his desk. Discarding his mug on his desk temporarily, he removed the Lock charms of the middle drawer and opened it, retrieving the small pile of Ministry letters concerning Astoria's movements.

He held it up and stared at the bundled letters; they formed a part of his past which had had a great part in shaping him into who he was now. They symbolised both hope and hatred; both emotions entwined in only a couple of letters.

_Grey eyes widened horrified as he saw Astoria raising her wand; all her fury aimed at the shocked, dark haired man standing at the foot of the staircase._

" _Astoria, don't you …!" He had already whipped out his wand and the Disarming charm was at the tip of his tongue, but it was too late._

_Green light – of that one particular horrifying colour that he had hoped never to see again in his life – filled his vision as it sped towards its frozen target, intending to do what the darkest wizard of their generation hadn't been able to do._

_Intending to rip away the one he loved the most and had been hoping to share his life with. The one person in the world who held his heart in his hands._

_In just a couple of seconds his whole world was uprooted, destroyed._

The letters wrinkled heavily in his clenched hands and he blinked, ripping himself out of that awful memory. With a lightly trembling hand, he raised his wand and with one whispered spell, the letters went up in flames; the fire eagerly eating away at the parchment until nothing but grey ash remained.

This was it then. He could finally close off that part of his life forever. There would be no more Ministry letters warning him of an escape attempt of his ex-wife. He would no longer have to live with the dread that one day Astoria might succeed in escaping and track him down to finish her job. After that faithful day she hadn't made a secret of the fact that she utterly despised Scorpius because of whom had birthed him.

"Papa?" Scorpius' high, innocent voice tore him free from his dark musings and he briefly shook his head.

Taking care to vanish the grey dust and close the drawer again, he faced his son with a faint smile as calmness completely filled him.

"Let's go, Scorpius, before dinner becomes cold," he murmured and the little boy beamed, chattering brightly about what he had done with Teddy today while they made their way down the wooden staircase.

It wasn't as grand as the marble staircase back in Malfoy Manor, but Draco wouldn't change it for the world. Not after what he had been through.

The smell of roasted pork covered with various spices drifted towards him when he reached the corridor leading to the kitchen and the scent was positively mouth-watering.

Scorpius hurried into the kitchen and soon the scraping of a chair being hastily pulled back rang through the house.

"Careful, Scorpius, before you hurt yourself!"

Draco entered the room and his gaze fell on the blond boy leaning forwards on the table with his elbows, staring excitedly at the roasted pork, already cut into several slices, steaming in front of him.

"I want that part!" he stated determined and pointed at a particular slice at one of the ends.

"What do we say?" Draco raised an eyebrow meaningfully.

Scorpius had the grace to blush a bit and bent his head bashfully. "That part, please," he corrected himself and lowered his hand.

A gentle laugh rang through the large kitchen. "That's fine, darling. If you want that part, you'll get that one." A slender hand selected the slice and placed it on the boy's plate, which was already filled with some potatoes and some mashed carrots.

"Thank you, daddy," Scorpius muttered and eagerly started cutting into the meat, discarding his vegetables for the time being. He would probably need to be coaxed again to eat his vegetables.

Grey eyes softened as they fell upon the dark haired man bustling around the kitchen, taking a bottle of water and one containing apple juice out of the refrigerator.

The bottles created a soft 'thunk' sound as they were placed on the wooden table and emerald green eyes looked at him questioningly.

"Done with work for today?" Harry asked curiously and the light caught the golden ring on his ring finger of his left hand, making it sparkle for a couple of seconds.

Draco approached him and placed a hand briefly in his neck, kissing him softly on his mouth. "Yes, at least for today. I only had to deal with a couple of letters," he grunted and released the dark haired man so that they both could take place at the table and start their own dinner.

It was a miracle Harry was even alive today. Any other person would have been dead if the Killing curse had been cast on them, but luck or faith or some kind of higher being had been on Harry's side that particular day, saving his life.

_Draco rushed forwards, even though he knew there was nothing he could do to stop the Killing curse and his mouth fell open as his eyes caught terrified, green ones._

_The curse struck, enveloping Harry, but instead of sinking into his body, stealing his life, the curse suddenly rebounded and hit the ceiling, causing several parts of the ceiling to fall down on the floor. Right before he could be buried underneath the ceiling parts, Harry dived out of the way and Scorpius' renewed crying rang loudly through the air; Astoria's enraged scream filling the air at the same time before Draco managed to shut her up._

The blond had had enough presence of mind to take Astoria's wand away after he had bound and silenced her. Then he had quickly made his way to Harry, who by then was already trying to soothe a hysterical Scorpius as if he hadn't just managed to survive the Killing curse _again_.

Harry himself had had no idea how he had done it as he hadn't consciously used his wand to defend himself. After pouring both his and Draco's memories into a Pensive, Severus had come up with the theory that Harry's own magic had created a Mirror charm just in time, thereby reflecting the curse to the ceiling before it could struck him. Accidental magic wasn't unheard of – certainly not in children when their magical core started to develop fully – but while this particular magic was capable of saving someone's life, by delivering a magical blow to their assailant for example, never once had someone's magic successfully created a defence against the Killing curse.

Once again Harry had beaten the odds.

Draco was just grateful for whatever had managed to save Harry's life. Accidental magic, plain luck, Lady Faith, some higher being … It didn't matter to him; all that mattered was that he hadn't lost his lover to his deranged ex-wife.

And now that she was gone out of their lives for good, he felt that he could finally breathe properly again.

* * *

A last check-up was done on his sleeping son: tucking the sheets back around his body to prevent him from becoming cold, putting his stuffed toy back into his bed and a soft kiss was pressed on his forehead. A softly glowing ball of magic in the right corner of the room made certain that Scorpius wouldn't wake up in complete darkness. Like most children of his age he wasn't fond of the dark. The door of his bedroom was left ajar, in case he woke up and needed one of them. They would hear him calling out immediately if such was the case.

The light in the bathroom was turned off and a last look through ensured the blond that all the windows and the doors were locked. They lived in a peaceful village and could defend themselves if it was necessary, but he didn't want to take any changes. He wouldn't forgive himself if harm befell on his family.

Harry was already lying in bed when he entered their bedroom. His eyes glowed luminously like that of a cat in the light of the candle.

"Do you have something on your mind?" Harry inquired as Draco changed into his sleepwear.

"No, why?" Draco frowned and raised the blankets, so that he could step into the bed.

Harry shrugged, still looking at him intently. "You looked occupied during dinner," he replied softly.

Draco stretched out his hand and caressed Harry's cheek. "Just thinking how lucky I am to still have you with me," he murmured and green eyes softened in comprehension.

A kiss was pressed into his palm. "That's part of our past now. It's over. She won't ever hurt us again," Harry said determined.

_Harry will never know how right he is about that_ , Draco thought grimly. "That's true," he muttered and kissed the dark haired man before he doused the candle with his wand and they shuffled underneath the blankets until they ended up with Harry's leg thrown over his thigh and his head resting on Draco's shoulder.

"Tomorrow I have my check-up," Harry murmured against his collarbone and he felt lips brushing a kiss against his skin.

"I can't wait," Draco smiled and his hand caressed the gentle swell of Harry's stomach, which had been housing their unborn daughter for six months now. Next year they would be welcoming their second child.

"I love you," Harry whispered in the dark.

"I love you too."

Choosing Harry as his surrogate would – despite the problems it had brought with it – remain one of the best decisions of his life. The other decision had been to ask this beautiful, amazing man to become his husband. He had made some regretful decisions in his life, but these were some of the decisions he would never regret.

All was well now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN2: This is officially the end of this story. Please let me know for the last time what you thought of this chapter; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> I hope to see you all in my future stories!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


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